Goodnight Kiss
by raiderfox
Summary: It all started with an undercover Job that was only suited for Nick & Judy. Mature themes in later chapters. Nick Judy
1. Chapter 1

Three weeks on the job and Nick was discovering there was a lot more to being a cop then the Police Academy had led on. The instructors had for the most part always painted a rosy picture of police work, highlighting the exciting job and the opportunity to help the community. What they didn't mention was the amount of paperwork required. There were mountains of it. Each case had to be meticulously logged with the accounts of all witnesses being dutifully retyped into the ZPD database. It took hours and Nick detested it. His paperwork had started to languish as he turned in reports later and later sometimes not at all. This is how he ended up in Chief Bogo's office.

"Why do you waste my time with this?!", Chief Bogo exclaimed. "Do you think it isn't important? We can't run a police office without proper processes."

Nick's usually confident demeanor evaporated as his gaze drifted down to the hardwood of the large imposing desk which hid the lower half of Chief Bogo's body. Up until the last week he had been his own boss; free to go and come as he pleased, make his own decisions, and never taking crap from anyone.

"It must have slipped my mind. I will try to do better in the future." Nick replied in a defeated tone, his ears swept back against his skull in a submissive manner.

"Well you damn well better!", Chief Bogo snapped. Slamming his large bifurcated hooves onto the table. "I don't want to see you in here again Wilde. Now get out."

His tail nearly dragging on the floor, the new police officer slinked out of the office. His thoughts defeated and circling on self-pity. Nick couldn't remember the last time he had been verbally berated with such vigor. Nick had an agile mind that we always working himself into and out of trouble. His first stop after he left Chief Bogo's office was to Chazz's desk. Chazz was an interesting fellow. He was a lion but displayed zero of the typical characteristics of his species. In Nick's eyes Chazz was a rather lackluster runt of a Lion. A guy who was very socially inept, mostly kept to himself, and seem to enjoy the company of the action figures that littered have desk. Nick had wonder how the feline even made it through the Police Academy. Perhaps it was a slow year. Regardless, Nick approached Chazz's desk with what he has hoped was an open and friendly smile.

"Chazz! Hey Buddy, how has your day been? Frequenting any intense stake outs recently?", Nick said through a white toothed smile.

Chazz glanced up with a suspicious expression as Nick approached. He wasn't used to anyone being so cordial or open with him. He glanced to Nick's chest reading his badge. "Hi Nick I don't believe I've met you yet. You're the cute bunny's partner right?"

Nick ignored the comment on his partner's cuteness and nodded. "You know it. Also as you know I'm one of the newest officers here and I'm still getting used to the formatting for our paperwork. I actually just came from Chief Bogo's office before heading straight over here. Getting some assistance from you would be a great help to set me on the right path. Plus, it's obvious that you know a lot about this process and I'm sure we can figure this out together." He then proceeded to drop a stack of paperwork on the lion's desk. "It's easy to see how you're a great help to the team. If you could get started on these then I could use them as an example for my next set."

"Buu…" The Lion stopped short as the fox cut him off.

"Thank you so much!", Nick snapped before doing an abrupt face and striding off; his tail high and proud having regained some of his aplomb before nearly bumping into Judy.

"Nick!" Judy exclaimed. "I heard you were called into the Chief's office. What was that about?"

"Oh, it was nothing. He just wanted to give me a few pointers. I have it all taken care of." Nick said, offering a sly smile, pleased with himself as he could hear Chazz starting to work on his paperwork behind him. "Now, what do you say for a bit of dinner? It's been a long day."

Judy nodded and smiled, "I would like that. What is it? Your first month on the force? It's time to celebrate!"

"Great! You're buying then!"

Judy just laughed and shrugged following him out of the station. Nick led her to a quiet place serving various fairs where they both could get something they would each enjoy. Plus, a tall pint of beer to take the edge off. It was a Friday after all.

"To one month!" Judy grinned holding up her glass of water in a toast.

"To one month and to many more!", Nick smiled and clinked his pint of beer against her glass and taking a long pull. "So what are your plans for this weekend? Going to get into any trouble?"

Judy laughed, "ME? Aren't you the one I keep having to rescue? I'm sure the pokes and prods I gave to your instructors at the academy didn't hurt. But, no. I'm actually going to visit the folks this weekend. It's been to long since I've seen my family. What about you? Not going to start up your popsicle gig again if I'm not around to supervise you, eh?" She winked, her mood rising till she felt almost bubbly. Something that seemed to be a common occurrence around her new partner.

"Hey! I simply don't know what you're talking about. I graduated top of my class!"

While this was true, Nick had graduated with honors. He excelled in most areas of the police academy but was well below average on anything that required long periods of sitting still and concentrating. Judy had used what small amount of influence she had to persuade Nick's instructors that he was a choice candidate and to look over those minor details.

"Anyway", Nick continued. "I will be staying out of trouble. There are a few friends I haven't seen since before the academy. I thought I would go visit them. No pawpsicles will be involved. I assure you. Scout's honor." Nick held up his right paw and grinned, winking at her.

"You never finished scouts! I'll just have to take your word for it!" Judy laughed, sticking out her tongue quickly to remove any malice from the quip.

"Foods here!", Nick cried as a stout bear dropped off their dishes. "Dig in!"

The pair continued to eat and chat about their upcoming weekend. Joking about who was going to have a more fun and relaxing weekend. Little did they know, clouds were forming and a storm would soon rock them and their relationships to the core.

"Carrots!"

Judy jumped and her ears spun in the direction of the noise before she saw Nick ambling toward her, his sly expression plastered on his face. She was still getting used to seeing him wearing the blue. The tight fitting uniform really made him a handsome guy. It was a far cry better than the seemingly random apparel she initially saw him wearing. She was standing a few blocks from the station where they had started meeting in the morning to make the final walk to work together. Neither of them owned cars and lived in the same direction from the station so meeting up before work came quite naturally.

"Hey! How was your weekend? I see that you're still in one piece.", Judy grinned and turned to start the walk to work.

"Haha, well I at least managed to scrap the pieces back into this uniform by this morning. How do you always have so much energy on a Monday morning?", Nick growled looking a bit bleary eyed.

Judy laughed, "It's easy. Just get a full night's sleep and stick to a vegetarian diet".

"Not worth it", Nick chuckled. "So how was your weekend with the folks? Did they grill you having a fox for a partner?"

"Nope! Not at all. They have actually become quite a bit more excepting." Judy said, smiling. "I do wish all my relatives were as opened minded. I had one uncle spend over half an hour trying his best to convince me you were just playing a long con to rob the city or some nonsense like that."

"Wow, I better get started on that if I plan to pull that kind of gig." Nick said and nodded to a coffee shop they were passing. "How about a quick stop for a cup of Java?"

"Well we better be quick about it. We don't want to miss the morning assignments and end up with some dead end gig."

The uniformed pair made a quick stop for the drinks, a large espresso for Nick and an herbal tea for Judy. Without having to hurry too much they made it on time for the morning meeting. Each taking their respective seats on the front row, chosen of course by Judy. The fox and rabbit got a simple assignment. Go to three domestic abuse cases and take the statements from the plaintiff and the defendant as well as any witnesses. The drive to their first case only took a matter of minutes before the pair were climbing out of the car and walking up to the front door.

*Knock Knock Knock*

Judy tapped on the door three times with Nick waiting behind her. A frightened and tired looking female raccoon came to the door. She was a little under five feet but still towered above Judy. Her eyes were bloodshot and the left one was almost swollen closed.

"Hello Mam, we are responding to call about some domestic abuse." Judy said looking concerned.

The raccoon took a quick glance down at the bunny before looking to the fox. She then completely ignored Judy and started to pour out her story to Nick who was rather taken aback. Judy shrugged it off and flipped open her notebook taking down all the details with her favorite carrot pen. After a good fifteen minutes of the females fast and desperate talking she began to taper off. Nick only nodding and adding the odd, "Mmhmm…" and "That must be hard."

"Okay Mam, we have taken down your statement. Could we please speak with your husband now?" Judy said trying to retake control of the situation.

The female raccoon just stared down at her for a moment before nodding and yelling back into the house, "It's your turn; you asshole!" She then walked off disappearing into a neighbor's house before a rather fat short raccoon appeared at the door.

"What the hell is this. A joke?" The raccoon laughed as he saw the two small officers at his door. "Are my friends playing a prank on me?"

"No, I can assure you this isn't a joke. We are here to take your statement." Judy replied her face turning a bit red in anger and frustration.

The raccoon just grinned, seeing he was having an effect on the little bunny. "Well, then I deny everything she said." He chuckled and folded his arms looking down his nose at Judy. "I'll give my real statement when the REAL police arrive." He then turned back into the house and slammed the door, dead bolting it behind him.

Judy stood there, her muzzle hanging open, shocked by the raccoon's reaction. Not a real cop?! How dare he. Her face turned a darker shade of red, a growl emanating in the back of her throat. She reached up to bang furiously upon the door; to rage against the raccoon before a paw on her shoulder stopped her. She looked back with an expression of fierce anger on her face to see Nick's cool expression with a shadow of a smile on his lips.

"It's okay Carrots. We can just write up the report and say the defendant didn't want to get a statement. There are assholes out there and we are the ones who usually have to deal with them." He squeezed her shoulder again a bit harder in reassurance before ushering her to the squad car. He even managed to open the passenger door for her before climbing in himself earning Nick a small smile.

"Where to next?", Judy said with a bit of an edge to her voice, the recent encounter still clearly on her mind.

"Next stop Tundratown so looks like we've got a few minutes to relax as we drive over there. How about some tunes?" Nick said cheerfully before hitting one of his favorite radio stations that played mostly early 2000s rock.

"You're still listening to this? Why not go all the and get that frosted tips hair style I know you would love to rock!"

"I'm sure you would love that Carrots, but I'm afraid I'm simply too good looking to mess up my fur with that kind of nonsense." Nick chuckled as he pulled onto the highway that would lead them to Tundratown.

After a few more rock songs played they pulled up in front of a series of duplex's that seemed huge in comparison with the houses they just left.

"What kind of animals live here?", Judy asked just a hint of hesitation in her voice.

Nick looked down and checked his notebook, "Looks like they are polar bears", he said with a shrug before opening his door and hopping out.

Judy nodded to herself and climbed out of the car herself, heading to the front door with Nick in tow. As before Judy took the lead and knocked as high as she could reach on the door, which seemed to tower above her. The pair waited a few beats before they heard the pounding of heavy footsteps and the door unexpectedly burst open nearly hitting Judy. Her lightning quick reflexes that was inherent to all rabbits gave her the advantage to dodge the quick swinging door in a not too disrespectful tumble before landing on her feet again. A very large and tall female polar bear stepped out and looked around before she noticed the pair almost under foot. Judy made a quick glance at Nick before raising her voice and announcing, "Hello Mam, we got a call that there was a disturbance at this residence. Are you okay?"

The polar bear gave Judy a very confused look, "Uhhh, are you a police officer?", she said before trailing off with a very bewildered expression.

"Yes mam, we are both officers of the ZPD." Judy assured her, before pulling out her notebook. "Can you please tell me what happened?"

The bear seemed to be having an internal struggle her face betraying her emotions, "I didn't think rabbits could be cops. I've also never seen a fox in uniform."

"Well, I'm the first one." Judy explained her expression darkening and her smile looking somewhat forced. "I can assure you I went through the same training as every other police officer."

"Well, how long have you been an officer then? I haven't heard of you." The polar bear huffed, "And what about you?" She said, looking toward Nick. "The silent type eh?"

Nick leaned in, his expression unchanging, "I've been in the force for just about a month. Judy hear has been in for about 18 months. So she is the experienced one."

"Jesus Lion!" The bear swore. "I get beat up and the only officers I get are some skimpy fresh outs. I always knew the police officers weren't as tolerant of us bear folk."

"Please, mam. We are only here to help. I'm sure if we can get your statement we can start processing your case. You don't want another officer to come down just to write down some facts right?" Judy said, her voice almost pleading.

The polar bear started to back into the door shaking her head. "It's been a traumatic day. I really want a professional to work on my case. Please, just go back and send some officers with experience. Thank you." The door was then shut firmly in the fox and bunny's faces.

Judy stood rooted to the spot. Her face moving from anger to anguish and back again. Her hands started to shake, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the carrot pen and notebook in her paws. In a sudden flurry of movement, Judy spun around and walked briskly back to the police car jumping in the driver's side. Nick looked about awkwardly before following and getting into the passenger seat. He glanced over at his partner but before he could utter a word Judy started the car, put it in gear and started to drive, her eyes fixed straight ahead, her expression unreadable.

"Carrots…" Nick prodded as he looked at Judy whose chest was starting to heave. "Why don't you pull over for a moment."

Judy glanced over at her partner and nodded pulling the car over next to a deserted park. "It's fine. It's fine." She muttered to herself. Her voice cracking on her second attempt.

"Has this happened to you before?" Nick asked his expression one of empathy.

"No, never!" Judy choked, her paws holding the wheel in a death grip. "Of course, I was always the secondary on a case and I was assigned a new partner every week and they would take the lead." She said the last words spilling out.

"Mhmm, here let's let go of the wheel." Nick said softly, reaching over and pulling Judy's paws from the steering wheel. He held each of her paws in his, squeezing reassuringly.

"It isn't supposed to be this way.", Judy sobbed. "I'm here to help them. Why don't they want my help?"

"They just aren't used to a bunny cop… or a fox cop for that matter. It's going to take some time. Most animals resent change. This is a big change for them. You're challenging stereotypes." Nick said with a quick grin and an extra squeeze on her paw.

Judy's face was damp with tears as she looked over at her partner. He always seemed to know what to say. She felt very lucky to have such a good friend who could understand her. "Yeah…" She said meekly, "I suppose you're right. I can't expect everyone to be so understanding."

Nick pulled a handkerchief from his shirt pocket and handed it to her, "Now you should do something about those tears. I can't have you making me look bad." He said with a wink, squeezing her paw one more time.

She offered him a slight smile and nodded before blotting at her eyes with the cotton square.

"Now how about we let another officer handle the third call?" Nick said with a grin.

"We can't do that!" Judy frowned. "We have a responsibility to get through our assignments!"

Nick ignored his long eared companion for a moment and spoke into his chest mounted radio, "This is officer Wilde and Hopps. We are having a bit of car trouble. Request an officer look into the third domestic abuse case at 15143 Cherry St."

Judy looked at her partner aghast. The radio chimed back, "No problem. Please come back so we can look at the car."

Nick placed the radio back on his shirt and looked to Judy. "Tragedies come in threes. I didn't want to risk it. Anyway, I'm ready for some grub. What do you say Carrots? Let's bend the rules and just shake this off."

Judy's instinct urged her to berate her partner for not fulfilling his one hundred percent duty but he had just been so sweet to her moments ago. "Okay, seeing as you're still a greenhorn and I don't want you to get the wrong impression of police work." She grinned and gave him a hard poke in the arm. "Let's not make this a habit, okay?"

Judy and Nick pulled away from the park and drove toward the station stopping on the way for some good conversation on some good food. Tomorrow was going to be the start of something new for them.

Chief Bogo grinned to himself as he listened to the radio as Nick called in, requesting a relief officer. He had planned their day to be a disaster. He had experience with all three of these cases and knew each of them distrusted smaller animals. The pair were going to be perfect for his plan. The chief paused for a moment before sighing. He wasn't a bad officer and wasn't looking to endanger the pair. He just wanted to make sure the two were extra motivated for what he had in mind. He hoped the pair would be up for the task. The lives of young animals were at stake.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Nick and Judy met the following morning at the usual place at the usual time. Nick immediately noticed the energetic bounce to Judy's step and the eager expression on her face. He was glad Judy had mostly recovered from yesterday and was back to her spunky and energetic self. He grinned at her as she walked up, it had hurt him to see her so devastated and was ecstatic at her return to form.

"Good morning Carrots, you seem to be in a good mood." Nick said, watching her walk up.

"You know" Judy grinned stepping up next to Nick. "A good night's rest will put everything into perspective. We are police officers and there will be good days and bad." She smiled almost shyly up at Nick before looking away. "Thanks for..." Judy trailed off. "Well just thanks."

"Don't sweat it. You can just buy me a beer next time we're out. Deal?"

"Deal!"

The pair made their way at an unhurried pace down the sidewalk on the way to the work. Nick took more care this time to watch the expressions of the animals as they passed. He was still a fairly new officer and was unused to the looks he got. In his previous life he never stuck out. He preferred to blend into the crowd. Now it felt like he was wearing a neon vest with a flashing sign on his head. Everyone now watched him as he walked by. It made him more than a little nervous as he saw the different expressions as his eyes met the various animals they passed. Some showed friendliness, some respect, even some fear. But for the most part he saw a mix of shock, confusion, and even distaste as the pair of diminutive cops made their way to the station. How had he not noticed this before? Yesterday had been quite the eye opener. Nick glanced at Judy and was relieved to see that she hadn't noticed any of the less then charming glances. She seemed to be wrapped in her positive and glowing bubble again. He had to admire her for that, she seemed to always be bursting with positive energy.

Judy and Nick made their way into the briefing room finding their usual seats. Most of their fellow officers were already in attendance. The last few stragglers making quick dashes their seats. Chief Bogo entered last and went straight to the lectern to begin the day.

"Good morning, let's get settled." Bogo began.

Judy sat eagerly as the Chief began to hand out assignments, her tall ears upright and focused forward. The animals in the room began to dwindle as the other pairs of officers got their assignments and headed out the door. Judy and Nick were the last two in the room with Bogo.

"And you two." Bogo said, pausing slightly. "I've got something special for you. Please follow me up to my office."

Judy's heart immediately began to race. The Chief knew about their stunt from yesterday faking car trouble. When they had dropped the car off she hadn't been too worried. Car's sometimes had ghostly maintenance problems and it wouldn't be too ordinary for a problem with a cruiser to suddenly right itself. Right? Judy didn't exactly know the first thing about cars. So with a feeling of trepidation she followed Chief Bogo outside the briefing room and up to his office all the while sneaking glances at her partner. He stood, as always, with his relaxed posture and expression. He was always so calm under pressure and during dynamic situations. A wave of what could almost be called jealously struck Judy. She felt like her chest would burst as she walked on pins and needles up to Bogo's office; taking a seat at his desk next to her partner.

Chief Bogo pulled out two manila envelopes and placed one in front of each of the officers. "What you are about to read and what I'm about to say must not leave this office. We believe there may be an internal leak and its critical no animals know of this operation."

Nick and Judy's eyes both went wide at this news. A leak in among the police? It was hard to imagine one of their fellow officers leaking internal information to criminals. Leaking information could easily lead to the injury or even death of a friend.

"Now, so far Judy. You have had pretty straight forward assignments. There is nothing straight forward about this. It will be challenging, dangerous, and it has to be kept absolutely secret." Bogo stated looking to Nick. "Mr. Wild you are straight out the police academy. You have practically no experience with this kind of operation but I'm afraid you're the only one that can get us access. The organization we are trying to crack is one that is run almost entirely by foxes. All the undercover officers I have sent before you have failed to gain their trust. They are suspicious of everyone but their own. Since you are new, after I finish the briefing you can choose to accept or reject this mission.

Nick nodded looking to Judy with a serious expression on his usually relaxed face. "I understand Chief. What is happening that is so important?"

"All right." Bogo stated. "I just wanted to be clear from the onset what is at stake. Go ahead and open the folders I set before you."

Nick and Judy pulled their envelopes toward them and pulled out the stack of documents. The first seeming to be a report on a type of street drug.

"What you have before you are the details on the latest designer drug to hit Zootopia. Its effects include euphoria, a loss of inhibitions, a state of high energy and a strong aphrodisiac. Among its many street names its mostly commonly referred to as Goodnight Kiss. It gets the name because there is a two percent chance of the drug being lethal on the first dose. If you can survive the first dose it is no longer lethal to the user. We have been finding the dumped bodies of some of our most impressionable teens and young adults throughout the city. Toxicology reports show that they died from this drug. So far there have been about 50 or so deaths and this seems to be a continuing trend. We have to get this drug not just off our streets but find the supplier and importer if possible."

Chief Bogo paused a moment letting them take in the initial facts of the case. The rabbit and fox were pouring over the documents in their paws while having both ears listening intently to the chief. Inside the folders were also lists of victims, information on suspected dealers, locations of the drug cartels hideouts, and much more.

"As I said before. We need a pair that can go in undetected and infiltrate their organization, find evidence and report back to me. So many lives are at stake. Right now the drug has only spread to the city of Zootopia but we have reports the cartel is looking to expand into neighboring towns and cities. This is where you two come in. I have already taken the liberty of creating your back stories. Judy, you are going to be the daughter of a low level crime boss in BunnyBurrow. If they ask you any questions about the town you shouldn't have a problem answering. Nick, you are also from BunnyBurrow and a low level dealer. You will be Judy's ticket inside the organization and will help gain entrance. You will pitch them the idea of using your small organization as distribution for this drug in BunnyBurrow and the surrounding area. We will supply the money and you should gain their trust and climb the organization. Time is tight so what should take six months to train you both in undercover operations will have to be done in a speed session of a week."

Nick had mixed feelings about this type of activity. He would be taking down an organization of his fellow species when not too long ago he was practically a criminal himself. He did feel what they were doing was inherently evil and needed to end. His understanding of undercover operations was so limited he had no idea what it really entailed. With his years of experience as a conman he had dealt with the mafia before. The proper animals had to be paid off when selling hot merchandise on someone's turf.

"The foxes are going to be well prepared and on the lookout for any government infiltration. I'm sure they don't use non-lethal weapons like we do. If I understand you right, you are asking us to put our lives in a very risky situation." Nick commented, his expression remaining neutral.

Chief Bogo nodded, "In normal circumstances I wouldn't even dream about sending such inexperienced officers into a situation like this. Unfortunately, we have run out of options. Nick, your background gives you a unique ability to communicate at their level. I'm not sending you in alone. Judy will be at your side and she will let you do all of the talking."

Nick pointedly looked over at Judy one eyebrow slightly raised. She was sitting there with a stoic expression which shifted into one of determination. Judy looked up when she felt Bogo and Nick's eyes on her.

"I'm in." Judy said simply looking up to Chief Bogo and vehemently nodding her head.

Nick almost broke his neutral expression with a grin. When it came to police work Judy was all business. She set her personal feelings aside; determined to help regardless of the cost. This quality alone kept her in the force as well as brought him in along for the ride.

"Well count me in too. When do we start training?" Nick sat up a bit straighter in his chair, eager to get started after the decision was made.

Chief Bogo continued to fill them in on the plans. He gave them each files to read that highlighted all the major details of their new personas. Judy would be dying her fur to a deep shade of brown and be required to wear green contacts. Her amethyst eyes would be a dead giveaway to anyone who watched her on TV. It was highly unlikely that someone would make the connection between the properly groomed gray purple eyed bunny then with this new brown and green eyed bunny. Her character would practically be a harlot, just one step up from being a street walker. It should keep most of the gang members from asking too many questions.

The Chief continued on discussing the intense training they would be facing and how their crash course would be taught by the best in the city. They also went over backup plans, the lower level grunts in the fox syndicate, and what to do if their cover was blown. Each would be carrying a very small, very rare handgun strapped to their backs just above the butt.

"Sending you completely unarmed would be a woefully poor choice. If they try to search you for weapons, Nick, you will just have to use that silver tongue of yours." Bongo shrugged, his usually high energy personality replaced with a tired looking and stressed persona. "Hopefully, these weapons will stay in their holsters until you place them back on my desk at the end of this.

The light in the windows began to glow a deep red as the sun started to hit the horizon. Judy and Nick stood up from their chairs and both shook hands with the chief before walking out. It had been a long day for both of them. Nick and Judy faced what was possibly going to be the greatest challenge of their lives.

"Well", Nick said as soon as they had left Chief Bogo's office and made their way to the street. "We are in one hell of a mess."

Judy broke into a grin and shrugged, "Yeah, but at least we know we are doing something important. It sounds like they are eager to move their drugs to a wider market. We just pop in, offer them the money and get the info and get out. Easy Peasy." She felt a lot more confident now away from Bogo's desk and walking side by side with Nick. She could see it in her mind's eye; returning to the chief with all the details and helping save all of those lives. It was why she became a cop in the first place.

"If only it was so easy." Nick replied, "This gang isn't going to be very trusting no matter how desperate they are. That's how you end up living a short life in the world of crime. I guess we will find out."

"It can't be as bad as all that. If they never sold to anyone then we wouldn't have this problem anyway." The bunny replied looking up at the fox.

Nick just shrugged, "How about I walk you home. Let's talk about something else. My head is starting to spin with all of this serious talk." He felt the need to crack jokes and be sarcastic but just hadn't had the outlet. At least he had his bunny partner to poke fun at.

The pair walked side by side off into the sunset talking about this and that. Tomorrow would be the start of training. Each needed a good night sleep.

The following week proceeded to be one of the most difficult and stressful Judy and Nick had ever experienced. Rising early before the break of dawn they started each day with lecture from a rough looking gray haired badger who preached nothing but doom and gloom. He taught them general rules of being in an enclosed environment with hostels; showing them basic guidelines like always know where the exits are, keep your back to something solid, and watch the paws of other animals for quick movements. He wasn't aware to the specifics of the job his students would be pulling but he wasn't happy about it and would litter in phases like, "Sending such inexperienced officers into undercover is how people get killed." It didn't exactly put the bunny or fox at ease.

Following the badgers lecture they moved on to specific hand to hand course with Judy and Nick sparing on mats. To Nick's dismay Judy often got the upper hand here. Even with his larger size, Judy's speed became such an asset. He found himself taping out early and often with his pride only slightly damaged. The pair would then break for a half an hour lunch before moving to a rather dusty shooting range that was hidden in a back lot of an old police training facility located on the out skirts of Zootopia. Judy really disliked this. She just couldn't get her mind around the taking of another's life. Non-lethals were such a standard that shooting to kill was practically taboo. Plus, she really didn't like how loud the guns were and how much they hurt her sensitive ears. Nick on the other paw seemed to pick up the skill with ease. Wielding such power in his paw was nearly euphoric. He couldn't help but grin at Judy, who was quite shocked at his expression, as Nick fired off rounds down the range; following the instructor's instructions. He kept his feet parted, both paws on the gun, and aimed down the sites before pulling the trigger.

Finally, the last class of the day and the longest was filled with lectures on the drug cartel and everything the ZPD knew about them. The pair of officers watched interviews with victims, studied layouts of possible hideouts, went over general hierarchies of similar gangs. By the time they finally left training the sun was well below the horizon and Judy and Nick would head home to pass out before waking up the next day to start the process over again.

After seven grueling days Judy and Nick found themselves in the evening at an outside café. Tomorrow, a Thursday, would be a day of rest and recovery before Friday evening when the pair would be going into the lion's den or fox's den in this case.

"To a successful mission." Nick raised his glass leaning over to Judy. He looked a bit ragged around the edges from the early mornings and long days but he still wore his charming smile.

Judy raised her glass, her own visage was a bit more out of sorts, with slight bags under her eyes from the lack of sleep and her smile showing up a lot less frequently. "To a successful mission!" She offered Nick a small smile. She had relied on his cool, calm attitude a lot more then she would like to admit. But found relying on Nick gave her strength from his confidence when things got really stressful. Judy found herself staring at her partner, he was unlike anyone she had ever known before. Not one of her friends had his odd mix of sly charm, quick wit, and nonchalant attitude. He also had such a handsome smile and sharp green eyes. Judy caught herself there and mentally shook her head as she returned her focus to the dish in front of her. She couldn't believe her thoughts had moved in such a direction. Bunnies did not think of anyone outside their species in a romantic fashion. No one did. It was an unwritten rule of Zootopia and pretty much universal in her world. Rabbits dated and married rabbits; foxes with foxes; lions with lions; etc. To go against this would be breaking one of societies great taboos. Judy just shrugged off the sudden rush of feelings, reasoning it was the lack of sleep and endless stressful days that led to this aberration.

Nick on the other paw was far too interested in the beer in his glass and the meal before him to notice his partner's odd expression. All too soon he had finished his meal before signaling to the wolf waiter he was ready for his next pint. He leaned back, stomach full almost to bursting, and grinned at Judy who seemed to be lost in her own world. "Hello, earth to Judy."

Judy almost jumped, focusing on the fox in front of her. "Just thinking about the mission the day after tomorrow." She sighed, that's pretty much all that had been on her mind since the conversation with Bogo. She was just ready to get it over with. Having such a big event hanging over her head was draining. "You look quite relaxed their Nick."

Nick grinned and nodded, "Nothing will put a fox at ease then a fully belly, a glass of tasty ale, and good company." He said with a wink to Judy. "Plus, it's such a nice evening Carrots. What's not to enjoy?" He motioned to the now dark street only illuminated by the street lights that began to turn on when they sat down to their meal. Small insects flitted and bumped against the glass making small knocking noises as they flew around the street lights.

Judy gave Nick a one sided smile, she really liked when he used the affectation 'Carrots' instead of her real name. He probably didn't think anything of it but if gave Judy a sense of belonging and that he truly cared about her. "It is indeed, but all good things come to an end. We should be getting home. Tomorrow is going to be another busy days getting our personal affairs in order should the worst…" Judy trailed off having not really considered what the 'worst case scenario' could be.

"Just stop right there. Things are going to be fine. Just stay by your trusty and fetching partner and I'll keep you safe." Nick relied chuckling.

"Fetching are we? You sure are full of yourself Mr. Wilde."

Nick just laughed, standing up from the table. The two officers pushed in their chairs and departed the café, each heading to their respective homes. They were as ready as one could get in a seven-day period. The next time she saw Nick they would be changing into their personas and heading undercover.


	3. Chapter 3

Chief Bogo was up early the day of the undercover mission. He arrived at the station before most of the officers had brushed their teeth. So he was quite surprised to see someone waiting for him by his locked office door. A tall middle aged white wolf clad in a dark navy blue suit with four bright shiny gold stars on each of the shoulder boards waited and watched as the water buffalo climbed the last few stairs and walked to his office.

"Commissioner Robinson", Bogo stammered his shock quite apparent on his face. "I wouldn't have expected to see you here. Is everything all right? Has there been an emergency?" Chief Bogo's mind quickly flew through the possibilities but was rebuffed with a paw held up.

"Let's go into your office we need to talk." Commissioner Robinson said with a cold tone to his voice.

Chief Bogo quickly ushered the wolf in, pulling out a chair, before moving around and taking a seat at his desk.

"I see you have an undercover operation just ready to kick off." The commissioner started. "I'm happy to see that hopefully we will get some more information on where that damn Goodnight Kiss is coming from. Dreadful to see so many of our young animals effected. I read the report. You're sending in the two newest recruits? A tough but fair decision. Desperate times call for desperate measures and we are at desperate times..."

Chief Bogo nodded along feeling quite confused as to what the Commissioner was leading up to.

"What I have a problem with is how you're sending firearms in with these new officers." He said slamming his fist down on the desk startling Bogo. "You know how long it took us to finally get all the gun violence off our streets. We haven't had a shooting in over fifteen years. Our officers haven't been armed in over twenty!" The wolf took a breath glaring down at Chief Bogo.

"I was only thinking of our officer's safety." Replied the water buffalo. "These are two cops who are so new they don't know what they are really getting into. I think…"

Bogo was cut short by the enraged commissioner. "Damnit. Do you think I want to have two green cops going into a situation where they are likely to pull out their guns and shoot up the place? This is a shit situation Bogo. A shit situation. I realize these two are being put in harm's way but I simply can't have gun violence coming back to our streets. Disarming the police was a big part of that."

Chief Bogo didn't have a way to respond. He was hoping the commissioner wouldn't know of the weapons before the mission had started. A sort of ask forgiveness later situation. He just nodded blankly.

"No guns. Just give them some Fox repellent. The cartel is supposedly run by a fox clan right?" The commissioner said rather testily, "Damnable creatures. Can't trust a one of them;. I'm still surprised one made it into the force. Probably made it through on our ex-mayor's small animal initiative."

Chief Bogo wasn't shocked at hearing the Commissioners words, universal tolerance was still a concept for politician speeches and work place posters. Zootopia was moving toward the right place but there were still some bigoted animals out there. He ignored the quip about Nick before nodding toward the door. "All right, no guns. I need to tie off a few things here before I can give the green light to the mission. If there isn't anything else commissioner."

"Nope, I'm glad we see eye to eye on this. Good luck, lets catch these bastards." The wolf then stood and shook hands with the chief before departing the office leaving Bogo alone to contemplate.

"Well shit."

Nick and Judy sat in the back of a beat up thirty-year-old sedan that was parked in front of a club that was gushing the loud BOOM-BOOM beat of techno music. Nick eyed the very large brown bear at the entrance who wore a t-shirt emblazoned with, 'SECURITY' across the chest. His eyes trailed down the line of the young animals that lined up in front of the bouncer waiting their turn to get access to the club. Most he could see were in their early twenties. All were dressed for a fun night. The girls wore low cut tops and the more well-endowed girls were practically spilling out. His eyes lingered momentarily then continued to scan. They had been briefed on this location every day for the last week. How many security guards worked the door, the rear entrance, and how many moved through the crowd inside. He knew the layout to the building, the places that would offer the best locations for observation, and where to meet their contact.

Their contact was a young looking fox who liked to dress in the punk style. His fur was continuously died a different shade of neon and he continually added piecing's to his tall ears to accompany the ones on his muzzle and nose. His name was Thomas Blackfoot but his nickname was Razor which everyone called him. He had been identified early by some officers who were sent to follow and observe potential dealers of the new drug. The police knew he had made some minor deals and was now considered to be a mid-level dealer with four or five dealers working directly under him. It would be Nick and Judy's job to convince him to make the first sale of Goodnight Kiss.

Nick was back to wearing his standard green shirt but missing his walkabout kakis and tie. In their place he wore some trendy looking blue jeans with fashionably rips and bleach marks placed strategically by some unknown designer. He wore his shirt tie-less with an extra button open to show more of his chest fur. He felt comfortable and rather at ease. His expression was relaxed with just a hint of his snarky smile. He had actually been in this exact club less than a year ago working the crowd and grinning at all of the lady foxes. He felt he was ready to handle this, 'razor' guy, and didn't expect any surprises.

Judy on the other paw was not doing quite as well as nick. She sat to the right of Nick on the side of the car that was opposite the club. Her expression was blank but her eye's betrayed her. Judy's pupils were tiny as she stared ahead taking noticeably shorter breaths. Her normally pretty purple irises had been covered up by some bright green contacts. Her fur had been died a chocolate brown removing all trace of her original fur color. She wore a rather slutty looking outfit that did more to show then to hide her rather small proportioned assets. Her face had been dolled up with a little too much makeup and lipstick a little too red. Mascara on her lashes gave her a more feminine look but it was just a bit overdone. She really looked the part of a girl who would be the daughter of a small time drug lord.

The fox and the bunny each had special emergency beacons in their shoes that could be activated with the squeezing of the toes. The devices needed a special sequence of taps and would activate a silent distress beacon, broadcasting their location to the local police office. It was an extreme last use device. If pushed it either meant officer down or officer in a life or death situation.

Judy collected her thoughts and focused. She could feel the weight of the gun in the small of her back and she drew some strength knowing that if all hell broke loose they had a backup plan. They were just waiting the final go signal from a detective who was late. The detective was a middle aged dog with the nickname, Gray. He was the one who had done most of the tailing and research on this case and was supposedly doing some last minute reconnaissance before giving the final greenlight.

"Shouldn't be long now." Nick said looking to Judy. He was fairly impressed at her disguise. He hardly recognized her. Nick had to remind himself that his friend Carrots was still there under the dark fur and heavy makeup.

Judy nodded her head, the large gaudy necklaces around her neck jingling. "We are ready for this…" She said ending in a question as she looked to Nick.

"We're ready. Just stay by me Hopps and watch my back and we will get out in one piece." He grinned reaching to squeeze her arm in reassurance.

Just as Judy was about to reply, a large dark hooded face appeared behind Nick. The glow of the neon lights surrounding the club shrouded the figure in darkness as he tapped on the glass causing Judy to jump. It was Gray. He opened the driver side door and hopped in closing the door behind him.

"Are you two ready?" He said looking mostly at Judy who was betraying some fear.

"We're ready." Judy said mostly feigning confidence.

"All right." Gray said before pausing. "Oh, I did get a call from the chief. He said no guns so hand em' over."

"What?!" Judy and Nick said in unison.

"That's right. He said something about breaking the circle of gun violence. I don't know. I was rather occupied at the moment. Just hand them over. I'm not here to argue.

The fox pulled his out first handing it over. His face read mostly of disappointment. Nick had liked the idea of carrying a gun even if wasn't going to use it. Judy paused for a couple extra heart beats before handing hers over as well. Her fingers clutched the gun a little tighter then was necessary as Gray stashed them both in of his coat pockets.

Judy felt a big blow to her confidence, her mind envisioning some rather poor outcomes that could have been prevented had she had the weapon. The bunny's eyebrows bunched together with worry but she kept silent as Gray started to talk into his phone.

"Are we a set?" Gray said into his phone skipping any greeting. "Mhmm, yes. Okay I confirm we are go." He hit the end button on his phone and popped it in his pocket. "All right young pups. Into the club and go set us up a drug buy. Good luck. If all goes well, I'll expect to see you back here in an hour. You know how to reach us."

The officers in the back seat looked at each other, pausing briefly as they glanced into each other's eyes, trying to guess exactly what the other was thinking. With a quick nod, Nick was out first. His bushy red tail whipping behind him as he left the car; slamming the door. Judy was a moment behind him, catching up to him, keeping close to his heals. The pair got in the line in front of the club, waiting behind a pair of rather striking female wolves. Each wore tight fitting shirts that showed off their generous busts and tight fitting skirts that showed off their rears. Nick found it hard not to stair. He was a male after all. Judy couldn't help but find a twinge of jealousy when she saw his eyes on them. She was a bit confused by these feelings. Nick and her were friends; partners. Judy focused on the bouncer at the head of the line. It looked like they were doing one-in-one-out. Every time an animal left the club another would enter. She assumed this meant they were at max capacity.

After a long fifteen minutes of fidgeting, shuffling, and idly checking their phones, the pair made it up to the bouncer. His bored eyes drifted over Nick and settled on Judy.

"I.D." He said in a gruff voice holding out this paw.

Judy's blush was hidden beneath her dyed fur as she passed over her I.D. realizing Nick must look older and more mature then her even though they were roughly the same age.

"Okay, you two are in." The bouncer said his gaze moving onto the next pair in line.

Nick opened the door to the club and was immediately assaulted by the harsh cigarette cloud of dozens of smokers and the oppressive Boom Boom beat of the techno music. As they entered Nick and Judy's teeth and the whites of their eyes glowed a bright neon purple under the black lights strewn on the ceiling. The volume in the club was impressive. Heavy bass notes blasted over the crowd in a rave style atmosphere. The pair made their way over to the bar. Nick motioned to a bison bartender and ordered a light beer while Judy had a cranberry juice. The undercover officers moved farther down the bar before starting to scan for their suspect.

Judy had never been in an atmosphere like this in her life. Bunnyburrow had nothing like this except for the odd celebration held out of a local's barn. Her eyes drifted to the different sections of the club. There were different areas for dancers depending on size. Judy had never considered the problem of two ton animals stomping around a dance floor next to their tiny counterparts. Judy couldn't help but smile as she saw a tiny area, complete with bar, for some mice ravers. She looked to Nick to point out her discovery but she saw his gaze was focused on what could only be described as a drop dead gorgeous fox. Her pale blue eyes shone brightly in the black light with her dark red fur looking almost black. She had a figure that made Judy truly green with envy. Large breasts, small smooth waste, and flaring hips were just the beginning of the assets that made this creature remarkable.

Judy grumbled to herself, looking back into the crowd. Beyond the dance floor circling the club were dimly lit alcoves. Animals sat gathered around tables doing all sorts of activities. She could see some were actively engaged with a partner in heavy make out sessions. Others were leaning into one another, lips moving. When her eyes scanned the farthest, dimmest recess, she saw him. Their mark. The suspect. Razor was there, surrounded by a retinue of animals ranging from small weasels to a very large gruff looking lion. Judy reached to poke Nick only to discover he had moved off and was now talking with the gorgeous fox.

Nick looked like he was really enjoying himself too, gesticulating with his arms as he nearly yelled into the fox's ear to be heard over the music. Judy growled and moved closer, reaching up to take hold of Nick's arm and pulling him away. The female fox gave him a disappointed and questioning look and pointed at Judy. Nick replied with a shrug and a wave as he followed Judy who pulled his arm so he would bend down slightly. Judy yelled into his ear, "Razor is over there, in the farthest alcove. Let's get this over with before you attract any more attention!"

Nick just nodded grinning ear to ear as he followed Judy to the section where Razor was sitting. He chuckled to himself, Judy was a spunky rabbit. While she was a bit nervous before she seemed to have steeled herself and was now all business. She did slow, letting Nick take the lead as they approached the table. Judy was unsure how this was going to work so she let Nick take the lead.

Nick walked confidently up to the table making eye contact with everyone before focusing his attention on Razor. The neon fox promptly ignored their visitor and continued chatting with the gazelle sitting next to him. Nick rolled his eyes and proceeded to knock sharply on the table with his knuckles, promptly getting the attention from the entire table. Razor looked pissed. He motioned for some of his entourage to 'get Nick' but before anyone could move very far the undercover fox pulled a thick stack of twenties from a discrete pocket and flipped through it nonchalantly. It had been provided to him for exactly this purpose by a very grumpy police bureaucrat. He held roughly ten thousand dollars in his paws. Enough to peak any midlevel drug dealer's attention.

Razor slide from around the table before he was standing in front of Nick and Judy. He eagerly looked at the money and motioned the two to follow him. He led them through a door labeled, "EMPLOYEES ONLY" and down a dark stair case. The sudden change in lighting and sound was startling. The volume lowered considerable with the exception of the pounding bass which could still be heard over their footsteps. He led them into an unlabeled back room which had walls, floor and ceiling made from poured cement. A single bare bulb burned above a small plastic table surrounded by four odd pieces of lawn furniture.

Razor took a seat before motioning the others to join him.

"Well, I have to admit you know how to get a fox's attention. Mr. Fox and Miss Bunny." He said grinning. "Now what is I can do for you two."

Judy was quite surprised by his excellent diction. His outrageous attire and many piercings just screamed drugged out loser but it was easy to tell he wore a persona as well. Judy wondered who she was really looking at.

"My name is Nate." Nick said pointing to himself before nodding to Judy, "And this is Jane. We came here for a business proposition."

"Oh really? And here I was hoping I had just won a grocery store sweepstakes and you were delivering my winnings." Razor said in a snarky tone. "So Mr. Nate. What do you have in mind?"

Nick explained who he was and who Judy was, detailing their plan to market Goodnight Kiss to the many bunnies in Bunnyburrow and the surrounding areas. Nick had received specific instructions on how to propose the deal. Something not too lucrative for either side but a rather fair business proposal. The neon fox nodded his head listening to the details, asking few questions, letting Nick talk.

"That's quite the plan." Razor said a hit of eagerness in his voice. "How much are you looking to buy. This drug is brand new and is in very high demand. It isn't going to be cheap."

"Well, we were looking to buy at least a kilo. I've got ten thousand here for a down payment. I just need the details of where we can meet to make the final buy." Nick said glancing to Judy who had remained silent for the majority of the conversation.

"I think we can make a deal. I like the idea of starting up a new market several hundred miles from here. As to where we can make the deal. We must first have a discussion of a different kind." Razor said pulling a bottle from his pocket.

It was a prescription bottle from a pharmacy and inside rattled a couple ordinary looking white pills. He carefully shook one out onto the table. "This isn't my first rodeo. I know the police are eager to get in here so I have to be extra careful especially since I don't know you and all you have is money with no real reputation. What I have here is something special. It's a pure non-cut form of Midnight Kiss. It's about ten times as potent as what I sell on the streets. All of its effects are multiplied by the same factor including the sex drive and the fatality. This pill carries a twenty percent chance of death. One of you two will be taking this pill. Tonight. Right now. If you refuse, I'll have my buddies here break your neck's and we will drop you two into a dumpster. If one of you dies, well I still have a second to make the deal with. I'm interested in fairness but today I think we are going to have Miss Bunny here take this. She strikes me as a bit suspicious and well I don't exactly want to kill one of my own kind right?"

Nick's quick mind was running a mile a minute. What were they going to do now? If they refused they would be in a world of hurt. They could hit their emergency triggers hidden in their shoes but this might be their last and best chance for a while to get into the club. He made a quick glance at Judy, she looked frozen to the spot. Without a lot of great options, Nick reverted to his snarky self that was always bubbling under the surface of his personality.

"Ha, don't waste it on her." Nick said looking a bit scornfully at Judy. Quick as a whip Nick grabbed the pill and flipped it up in a tumbling arc into his own muzzle. He was a bit dismayed that the pill started to dissolve in moments; any plan of hiding it behind a molar evaporated as the strong bitter taste flooded his mouth.

"Uhg, this shit tastes terrible."

Razor looked on with shock and dismay. He had never seen anyone be so cavalier with their own life. He would have to be careful with this fox.

Nearly speechless Razor looked to the pair. "Well, so be it. If you survive the night, we can discuss details on the buy tomorrow. You will stay here tonight." He looked to Judy with a nasty and wicked grin, "You're in a for a… fun night."

Razor and several of his crew got up and left the room. A heavy clunking sound emanated from the door as they were locked in. Judy looked to Nick in a panicked state. "What were you thinking?!" She looked shocked, dismayed and angry all at the same time. "You could die!" She gasped, "I couldn't handle that."

Nick hurriedly leaned close and whispered into her ear, "We have to stay in character. This room might be bugged. Not all is lost. This is our best chance to save lives. There wasn't a lot of choice. So I made it for both of us." He then moved back and said in a louder voice. "I'm sure it's okay."

Judy was furious with Nick. He had no right to make that decision. She couldn't stand the thought of her friend dying tonight. Her anger quickly evaporated into despair. She leaned in next to her partner and squeezed his arm tucking her face against his side.

It didn't take long before Nick could start feeling the drug beginning to take affect…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Mature themes.

Nick felt good. Nick felt very good. His worries faded away like the memories of a dream. He could feel his heart began to race as the drug began to take a stronger effect. His perception of the cold concrete walls of the room changed from bare and prison-like too cozy and inviting. His new forced exuberance spread to his face in a big toothy grin. He looked to Judy, disappointed to see she still wore a shocked expression on her muzzle.

"Carrots, whatever they are putting in this stuff. It's amazing. I've never felt so good in my life." Nick said with glee.

Judy looked at him crossly, she really felt like punching him in his damn smiling face. This situation was hard to wrap her mind around. Her partner, on the brink of being poisoned and death, was now walking around the room practically skipping. "I'm glad your last few hours are going to be so great. I'll just sit here at watch you die, shall I?" Judy said her voice dripping with sarcasm and malice. Her heart was thudding and she could feel her breaths turning into gasps now as she tried to keep her composure.

Nick walked to Judy and placed his paw on her arm. "It's totally okay. I'm not worried about that at all and neither should you. I'm not going to die." He couldn't sit still and started to pace around the room, his heart racing. "Is it getting hot in here? I feel like I'm burning up." Nick reached to his shirt and opened a few more buttons, revealing more of his chest fur.

Judy looked cautiously at her partner as he rubbed his paws through his own fur, unsure of anything that was happening. She couldn't find the words as nick paced, completely shedding his shirt.

Nick shook himself as the drug began to take its complete hold. He looked to Judy and saw her in a new light for the first time. No longer did he see his partner as a small cute bunny. He looked at her with eyes filled with lust. In his eyes she had morphed from a friend to a potential mate. His nose twitched as he sniffed the air, catching her scent. What had always been just her normal aroma now excited the fox as he stared at the brown rabbit.

Judy looked to Nick a bit startled, he was looking at her not the way a predator looks at prey but with the eyes of an animal staring at a female in heat. This sudden change in Nick was so swift and sudden she found it hard to process as he moved toward her. It didn't take her long to move to the opposite side of the plastic table, keeping it in between the pair. "I don't know what you're thinking Nick, but you're scaring me." She said her voice colored with a hint of fear. She cringed as she watched his eyes move over her body, resting on certain areas that really made her feel uncomfortable.

Her words fell on deaf ears as Nick watched her. He moved to the edge of the table, and was practically licking his chops. "Don't be such a silly bunny. We are meant to be together. It feels so right." The fox started moving clockwise around the table kicking the chairs to the edge of the room.

Judy jumped as each chair hit a cement wall; following Nick around so the table kept them apart. Her heart was pounding so hard, her system flushed with adrenaline, all rational thought began to leave her. "Don't do this Nick. Please don't do this." Judy said, her paws up and open in a pleading fashion. Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes dampening her fur.

With a quick leap, Nick jumped up to the center of the table. The cheap plastic table, unable to support his weight, collapsed with a loud crunch as bits of plastic were sent to every part of the room. The fox grinned at the bunny, in his eyes they were playing a game of catch-me-if-you-can, and she was an eager and willing participant.

The brown bunny kept her muscles coiled as to leap out of the way when the fox jumped at her. The expected dive came moments later so she was ready. A small piece of plastic from the table slid under her right paw and she careened to the ground, her head slapping the concrete hard. Dazed, Judy felt Nick's hot furred body hit hers in a body tackle pushing her small frame to the ground.

In Nick's drug fueled mind, Judy was open and practically begging for him. He nearly laughed, he had never had such a willing female participant. The fox leaned his muzzle towards Judy's and gave the side of her face a long wet lick, tasting her wet salty tears. The idea of a female being put in tears by his libido really sent Nick into a frenzy.

Judy tried to push the fox off but he was just too strong. The drugs made him confident and assertive, holding her paws away from her body. She couldn't hold in a sob as his tongue raked through the fur on her face. Judy squeezed her eyes shut against what was happening, but she couldn't shut out the feeling his groping paws. One had started to move down her body against her dress before he slipped it into the neckline and cupped a bare breast. She groaned and choked back another sob as he squeezed her intimately.

Nick started to pant as his excitement swelled, the feeling of her warm breast under his paw made him shiver with delight. He leaned in kissing along her jaw line, licking her throat before nibbling on her collarbone. His paw moved to her other breast, cupping and tweaking there as his tongue and lips continued to ravage her body, each kiss and lick moving farther down.

Judy shuddered and gasped, her body's reaction betraying her mind. The fox's touch started to invoke feelings of lust and pleasure. Tears still leaked from her beautiful large eyes as the fox kissed lower and lower on her body. His nose lifted up the hem of her dress, seeking her secretive center. Nick's nose made short work of her undergarments, simply pushing them aside as to gain access to her entrance. Lick after lick, Judy began to feel herself respond to the searching tongue. After a long minute or so, the fox slipped his muzzle out from under her skirt and positioned himself.

Judy glanced down to see Nick had freed himself and his member was standing hard and proud, bearing every characteristic his vulpine ancestors gave him. The rabbit's fear returned as she felt the tip move into place against her folds. Her eyes focusing up looking to Nick's but his gaze was far off; focused in his own private world of pleasure. Her paws, somehow managing to find their freedom, moved to grip the fox's sides, gripping fistfuls of fur.

With a shove, Nick began to mate Judy. He grunted and a low moan slipped between his bared teeth as he pushed himself, after a bit of difficulty, up to the hilt in the bunny beneath him. Not waiting, or pausing. The fox started moving himself in and out of her, panting loud and hard as their bodies moved together.

Judy shrieked as Nick initially penetrated her. Her claws drawing little furrows in his fur as pain hit her. The rabbit whimpered under the fox as his organ pushed itself into and out of her opening. The pain initially fading away, into a dull nearly pleasure-less sensation.

Nick was in heaven, he had a stunning mate was under his paws. His lips spread in a delighted grin from satisfaction as he rode her. Occasionally, he would bend his head down and kiss and lick her face, excited to share this pleasure with his wonderful bunny. He was truly blind to the situation and couldn't see the quivering, scared rabbit beneath his paws. The drugs having such a strong effect on his mind.

Judy started to feel something large and hard bump into her opening as Nick continued his thrusting. In a blinding flash she realized what vulpines had that was special about their anatomy. They tied to females during coitus. She shuddered and tried to clench her sore and abused muscles to prevent the tie but with a painful shove he was completely inside her; locking her body to his. Nick's thrusting became harder and more erratic, as he approached his peak. The fox made one final, deep thrust and held the bunny to his body as he erupted, his seed spreading into her. Judy choked back a sob at the final thrust, her paws falling to her sides as Nick collapsed on top of her, his body replete and drained.

Judy gasped as she felt the fox reach his peak. Her body felt battered and her opening throbbed with pain where Nick was still tied with her. Her mind was still trying comprehend the situation as to what exactly happened. She struggled to really understand. Judy's back and arms were pinned underneath the fox which proved to be quite painful with the cement to her back. Nick wasn't moving, he just lay there panting, his heart rate slowly returning to normal. After some time, Judy felt the fox's member shrink enough so he could slip free of her. A small gush of his seed accompanied his departure, quickly dampening her thighs.

Nick's breaths and heartrate continued to drop as time passed. Judy lay there listening and feeling both. She whispered, "Nick…?" but didn't get a reply. It seemed as if he had fallen asleep. Prodding his sides with her paws proved that he wasn't simply asleep but was now on the tail end of the drug's effect; having completely passed out. Judy waited and began to worry as her friend's breaths started to become more erratic and labored. Her heart leapt out to the fox as she realized these might be his last few breaths. Body hurt and battered, the bunny reached around the fox's back and pulled him close, hugging him to her. She had just been through an extremely traumatic and painful experience but she knew deep down that Nick had sacrificed himself for her.

Fresh tears formed in her eyes as she felt the fox's heart become slower and slower. Should she hit the panic button and have them rescued? Nick chose not to do it, nor had she when he had raped her. Judy knew if they weren't able to pull this off it would lead directly to the death of more young animals. Her toes rested on the emergency beacon switch but didn't toggle it. She couldn't. Nick and Judy knew this was a dangerous last ditch effort and they had to see it through. Somehow, even with her back pushed against cold concrete, Judy drifted off into sleep as she listened to the fox's breaths, covered by this warm fur.

Nick awoke; his mind feeling incredibly fuzzy and was accompanied by a strong headache. He felt very disorientated and confused; a bit unsure of where he was. His memory of the previous night was a jumble of confusing thoughts and flashes. He felt his knees throb as he realized his lower half was resting on concrete and his upper half was on… Judy! "Carrots, oh my gosh. Are you okay?" Nick whispered, pushing his body off of hers, rolling to the side.

Judy's eyes blinked open to see Nick's green ones staring down at her. She jumped, startled, thinking he might attack her again, but realized the Nick that looked back at her, was one that was out of the influence of the drug. "Nick, I…" She tried before trailing off, reaching down to push her dress down, covering her lower half which had been exposed.

Nick's eyes went wide as he quickly realized he was naked. His clothes haphazardly strewn around the room. In that instant, he realized what must have happened and what he had done. The fox practically leapt in the air away from Judy. His eyes looking to the ground as he gathered his clothes and slipped into them. He couldn't find the words to explain his remorse and the self-disgust that was coursing through his mind. The one thing that stuck in his mind more than anything was seeing the look on Judy's face as he woke up. The look of loathing and fear in her eyes struck him to his core. What was even worse than that was he remembered how much he had enjoyed himself. His very broken memory from last night had one overriding theme; one of pleasure, joy, and carnal lust. Whatever he had done to Judy he had enjoyed.

A loud clunk from behind the door, broke up Nick's increasingly self-loathing thoughts, signaling that their incarceration had come to an end. By the time he had finished zipping his pants and pulling on his shirt, the door had swung open and Razor stepped in, wearing an all knowing grin. Nick glanced back to see Judy was standing; albeit swaying slightly, using one paw on a wall to hold herself steady; having found her way to her feet.

"I see you two had a bit of a fun night." Razor chuckled, his gaze shifting between the fox and the rabbit. "I'm assuming you two will want to check out of our little hotel, not going to stay a second night, hmmm?"

Nick couldn't control the soft growl that exhibited his fury at the neon fox. "We passed your little test. Do we have a deal or not?" His eyes narrowed as he balled his fist unconsciously.

"Oh, we have a deal." Said razor. "I'm just glad to see you survived the night. Goodnight kiss is fun stuff no? A bit overwhelming in the higher doses. Just let me know if you want to give it a second try. Remember, now you have tried it once. The lethal aspect disappears."

The neon fox then proceeded to give them the time, place, and price to purchase their kilo of Goodnight Kiss. The meeting would be tomorrow evening, in the industrial district. An area, which Nick wasn't familiar with, that kept all of the different ecological zones of Zootopia running.

"Oh, and one other thing." Razor said, his tone dropping. He pulled out a large cellphone from a pocket and held up the display. "Just in case either of you had any plans of running off to the police…" He said trailing off, looking down at the phone's display. On the small screen, it was easy enough to see a fox and a rabbit having sex on concrete floor. It wasn't perfect quality, and the animals were highlighted in the neon green of night vision but both Nick and Judy could tell it was the two of them. Nick heard a gasp and a nearly choked sob from behind him.

"Just a little insurance my dear." Razor said. "Although, I did make you a copy." He said, handing Nick a paper envelope with a DVD inside. "Sometimes it's fun to revisit these little events." He grinned rather nastily at Judy, "Now, I'm sure you don't want this mailed out to every family in Bunnyburrow. So make sure you keep our little… transaction confidential."

Judy's head hung low, utterly defeated and humiliated. She had never felt so worthless and used in all her life. All she wanted, was to get the hell out of this pit and never see this God damn neon fox again. The broken looking rabbit followed her fox partner out of the club and back onto the street. She had to blink hard to get her eyes to focus on the street from the early morning sunshine. Judy couldn't focus on anything except following Nick. She kept her eyes only on his tail, it's bobbing somehow making it easier to keep moving forward. Nick called Chief Bogo to report in how they had the secured information on where and when to buy a large amount of the drug. She mostly ignored the conversation besides noting how nondescript Nick was being when describing what exactly went on inside the club.

The fox hailed a cab and he and Judy climbed in the backseat. Nick instructed the driver to drop off Judy first before proceeding to his apartment. Judy shivered at the thought of being left alone at her apartment and reached over to grab the fox's arm in a vice like grip. Nick looked to Judy, but her head was still tilted down, with her eyes glued to her feet. When they arrived at her apartment, Judy didn't budge. She just held onto his arm, not making a sound.

"I think I'm going to walk her up to her place and grab a second cab." He told the driver, handing over the fair and tip, before leaning over Judy and pushing her door open. The bunny got out, followed by the fox through the same door. With a screech of tires, the taxi tore off in search of another fair.

Nick had only been to Judy's place once but never inside. He had volunteered to walk her home, despite her protests, after seeing a rather late movie; so he knew basically where he was going. The fox pulled her along to the elevator, riding it up in silence. The rabbit never breaking her grip on his arm. Finally, they reached her apartment door. Judy reached for her keys with glacier slowness before trying to unlock the door. He paws shook as she tried to unlock her door, requiring nick to reach over and help her guide the key in; unlocking the door.

As soon as the door opened, Judy moved quickly inside, pulling the equally troubled fox in after her. Her neat and tidy apartment greeted them. In the last year she had been able to move to a larger place. One with her own bathroom, kitchen, laundry. Everything she needed to be self-sufficient. And thankfully, much thicker walls offering a great deal of privacy from noisy neighbors. Her apartment had the clean freshly washed smell of soap and the fragrance from the fresh flowers she always kept on her kitchen table. This week's flowers were simple white carnations, their sweet scent giving her apartment a welcoming and friendly atmosphere.

Judy and Nick reeked of cigarette smoke and sleeping in their clothes. The smell was much stronger now that they were in a confined space. Judy felt the bile rising in the back of her throat as she made a b-line for the bathroom, pulling Nick along with her. Once they had entered her small, cozy bathroom. Judy pushed the door closed and leaned over the counter; avoiding looking at her reflection. She didn't think she could keep it together if she looked at her disheveled appearance. Carefully, Judy removed her large colored contact lenses. All the while Nick waited patiently, a bit of a concerned and confused look on his face. He was struggling with his own demons, trying to wrap his mind around what he had done and how much he had hurt this bunny.

The brown rabbit leaned over the tub and turned on the shower to very hot. She reached down, grasping the lower hem of her dress and yanked it off in one simple motion leaving her completely naked for the first time in front of her partner. Nick's looked at his toes as she stripped, but nearly tripped as she started climbing into the shower trying to pull him in after her. He gasped and halted, pausing to pull his stinky attire off as well and slipping into the shower behind the bunny.

Judy needed to be free of that stink. Her body ached and was bruised in just about every inconvenient place. The juncture between her legs stung and her thighs were still coated in the dried seed of the fox. She needed this shower, but she also needed a friend. Judy couldn't stand the idea of being alone at the moment. Despite, what Nick had or hadn't done. She needed him as a friend at the moment. She pulled him into the shower just to keep his presence near. Judy closed her eyes and let the hot water from the shower and the steam sooth her body if not her mind. Nick stood behind her, only touching her once when she started to sob. He wrapped a paw around her tummy and gave her a hug. It was enough support so the bunny could finish her shower before trading places with Nick, allowing him to scrub the last remanence of the club from his body. Both came out of the shower dripping wet. The pair had still not said a word to each other, each just moved around one another avoiding meeting each other's eyes. Judy chose to towel dry while Nick stepped into the large fur dryer. Within a minute or two out popped an extremely fluffy Fox and next to him stood a mostly dry bunny.

Judy walked to her closet with Nick in tow and pulled on a fresh pair of panties and a small ZPD t-shirt with the words, 'ZPD Academy' stenciled on the front. It was a shirt from her days training to be a police officer; having been through the wash so many times, the shirt had become extremely soft to the touch. It was one of her favorite shirts to wear to bed. Nick, didn't have any clean clothes, so when the bunny moved to her queen bed and climbed in he just followed suit. Judy pulled the covers over her head so the entire world was blacked out. The only thing she wanted in the world was to have someone who cared about her close.

Nick was that someone. As he stretched out in her bed, he felt Judy move next to him; burying her face in his chest fur. He reached to gently stroke her back as she lay there. Only then did the sobs come. It started slow, with heavy breathing leading into quiet crying until he felt her paws hold onto him for dear life and weeping hysterically into his chest. Nick held her gently and let her cry. His guilt and self-loathing increasing with every second. Why had he ever joined the ZPD? Who were they to send him into such a mission with no training? He could have said no. He should have said no. How had he enjoyed… raping… this poor beautiful creature crying her eyes out on his chest.

Judy's mind began to quiet and her sobs began to peter off. She was surprised to find the top of her head was damp with the tears from the fox. The rabbit looked up and saw Nick had his eyes squeezed shut and was silently crying in his own right. She scooped up his head in her arms and pressed her nose to his, causing his eyes to open. They gazed at each other for a few long moments, looking deeply into each other's eyes.

Nick's mind whirled with everything that had happened; the drug, the sex, the DVD which was still in his pants pocket. He had no idea how they were going to come to terms with any of it. He felt like for one of the few times in his life he had no answers for anything. The fox was the first to speak, his voice rough from crying, "I'm so sorry Ju…" Judy cut him off by kissing him softly, holding her muzzle to his. She had been through a terrible tragedy that would take time to recover from. Perhaps it was a touch of Stockholm Syndrome, perhaps it was sharing a traumatic event with a friend, perhaps it was something that was coming along already; but having the fox hold her so tenderly caused her heart to swell and latch onto his. Unbeknownst to the rabbit she had just fallen head over heels in love with this fox.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Nick stroked the head of the sleeping rabbit on his chest. It was the first time he was able to really appreciate how soft her fur was. He wasn't a big fan of the dye job, the chocolate brown seemingly out of place on Judy. Tomorrow would be another long day, and one he wasn't sure Judy was ready for; or he, if the truth was told. Going out to face the world and false face again seemed like an insurmountable hurdle at the moment. His paws continued to stroke Judy's head and upper back; looking down at her as she slept. How did he feel about this bunny? Surely, he wasn't interested in a rabbit as a mate. He couldn't imagine a fox in the history of Zootopia having done so. Inter-species relationships just seemed so… unnatural. No cubs would result from the paring, animals had to breed with animals of the same species to reproduce.

The fox sighed softly to himself, his eyes starting to close from the lack of sleep. He glanced over at the bed-side clock, '8:30 AM' it read. He had only been in bed with Judy for an hour. He could feel his lethargy start to overwhelm him. The warm sleeping bunny on his chest didn't help either. With a final yawn, the fox closed his eyes and passed out.

A coyote sat in a comfortable leather arm chair on the top floor in one of the highest buildings in Zootopia. His office was strewn with accolades, awards, and photographs with important animals. A picture of him smiling next to the famous singer Gazelle hung on the wall behind him. The blinds on the windows were half drawn leaving long bright lines stretching out across the impressive desk. The desk held no more than the essentials; the latest executive computer, a copy of the financial times, and his cell phone. The coyote was immaculately dressed, not a hair out of place nor a stich of clothing not in its proper order. He wore a light gray suit with a white shirt, no tie, preferring to leave the top button open. In front of the desk, a bronze nameplate with his name Derrick Byrd; CEO Pharmaventure Inc. declared his success to all visitors.

Pharmaventure Inc. was a global company specializing in pharmaceuticals. It sold five out of the top ten commonly used drugs and had hundreds of patents. In other words, Pharmaventure Inc. had a license to print money. Derrick was no doctor, no researcher, he actually knew nothing about pharmaceuticals. His success came from knowing animals. How to organize them effectively, how to get them to follow and trust him, who to cozy up to and who to avoid. He was a master of corporate politics. That's how he found himself to be one of the youngest CEOs in the history of the company. At only thirty-five he had life made. On the top of a kingdom. But, Derrick wasn't a happy kind of guy. On the outside he smiled, shook hands, and was the spitting image of a well put together type of animal. He was driven for another reason. Derrick harbored a secret. A secrete he had carried around with him for two decades. He had an unbridled hatred of any non-predator species. He had always known that they were inferior to his kind and shouldn't even be considered to be on the same level as him and his fellow predators.

Sure, Derrick played nice with all of the prey species in his company, but slowly he had been replacing all the higher executives with predators. The board was already full of them, having pushed out the last prey, a rabbit, from the board only six months ago. Running one of the most profitable companies in the world wasn't enough for Derrick. Seeing, his fellow predators working and living under the thumb of their lesser animals made his blood boil. He had been biding his time. Waiting for the right moment to strike. The time was soon. The world order would change and predators would once again take their rightful place, on top of the food chain and masters of the prey animals.

Derrick opened up a saved file of an article from a local paper. The title read, "ZPD's newest addition saves city!". This had really been the first domino to fall. It was bad enough the ZPD was letting in prey species such as buffalo, rhinos, and elephants. He could at least have respect for those large herbivores who had vicious means of defending themselves but, when he read that the ZPD was letting rabbits in. He knew it was time to act. Derrick was well aware of Mayor Lionheart's mammal-inclusion initiative. He had just assumed this was a political play and not an actual commitment. The coyote gritted his teeth as a portrait of Judy Hopps in her police uniform appeared as he scrolled down the article. Her diminutive size was highlighted by the fact that, in the background of the shot, there were just the pants and knees of the other officers.

The article, of course, was dated over a year ago. Ever since that eventful day, the coyote had worked hard to set up the plan to slowly bring down the city of Zootopia, leaving him at the top.

Bzzzzzt! The communicator inside his desk buzzed which was linked to his secretary outside his office. His secretary was a chubby lamb who followed orders to the T. He felt that this was probably the highest a petty animal should rise, leaving everything more complex to the predators.

"Yes Sherry?" Derrick said into the speaker.

"Your three o'clock is here. Dr. Westin from the AR&D (Advanced Research & Development)." Sherry replied back with a cheery voice.

"Okay, send him on in." The coyote replied closing the rest of the applications on his computer.

The large entrance doors to the office swung in and Dr. Westin appeared. He was a small otter wearing a white lab coat that dragged slightly on the floor as he walked. His face was characterized by very long whiskers, even for an otter, that spread in an arc out from his face. He looked to be in his mid-sixties and wore a haggard expression. In his right paw he carried a white plastic box with a large biohazard symbol emblazoned in red on the lid. Dr. Westin was the head of the AR&D department where the most dangerous and cutting edge research was performed. Every employee in the department was under a strict NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) and was monitored on a daily basis to prevent leaks.

"Good afternoon Jonathan, Oh good! I see you have brought the samples I requested. Another two kilograms right?" Derrick said, motioning to one of the large leather chairs that sat in front of his desk.

The otter moved forward and sat down in the left chair before holding up the white box and placing it on the coyote's desk. "I'm still not sure why you need such a large specimen of sample X452. Surely, the remote research team only needs a couple of grams at most."

Derrick leaned forward and took hold of the box, noticing the weight as he moved it to his side of the desk. X452 was the codename for what he himself had dubbed, 'Goodnight Kiss'. "Never you mind. They are doing some rather in-depth research on this specimen and need a lot of it." He said, blatantly lying through his teeth. "Now, how is the research going on X1025?"

"Well, we have a bit of a hiccup with the X1025. It seems that during the trials some of the patients are lapsing into comas and perishing. I've recommended a halt to the research until we can perform a root cause analysis." The otter said, looking down at his paws, not wanting to meet the coyote's gaze.

"What percentage of test subjects are running into this…" Derrick searched for the right word, "glitch?"

The otter furrowed his brow at the phrasing but didn't mention anything. "We are seeing it in about 7.8 percent of subjects." The otter continued, starting to babble about genetics, brain chemistry, and the likely hood of certain problems to crop up with this kind of drug.

The coyote mostly ignored him, contemplating the outcome. Of course, what he had his lab designing was not some kind of health cure, but instead was the second phase of his plan. Around 8 percent, seemed to be an acceptable loss. They're only prey, he thought to himself. They multiply like, well, rabbits. He chuckled to himself at the phrasing catching the otter off guard.

"Mind drifted there for a moment." Derrick said before standing. "Well, keep working out the bugs. I don't see a need to halt testing and return to the drawing board. I give my full authorization to continue. Let me know if there is anything else you need. Funding isn't a problem."

Dr. Westin stood, his overtaxed mind unable to figure out exactly why the coyote wanted this medication researched so much. The concept behind X1025 was fairly simple. In individuals who had debilitating depression, anger, or some other mental problem, X1025 was designed to remove most of these symptoms with one trade off. The animal would be permanently altered so they only had about seventy-five percent of their intelligence. They would continue to lead normal lives but would be free of their incapacitating symptoms. The company was still in the trial phase, and there was hope that this number could be increased to one-hundred percent but that goal was still far off.

After the otter had left his office he turned back to his computer and pulled up a video from his most recently viewed history. Derrick had already watched the video a dozen today but he couldn't stop himself from watching it again. The video started out black but quickly two green figures appeared on camera. A fox and a bunny. He was watching the video of Nick savaging Judy, causing a cruel grin to spread across his muzzle.

The coyote was quite aware who the bunny was, but only a vague knowledge of the fox; something about a street con artist. He had wanted Judy to be the officer who went undercover into this club. She was integral to his plan. The cities prey animals saw her as a role model and hero type. She was easily the smallest officer but managed to take down a corrupt mayor and a plan to frame the predators. Derrick was the king of manipulation and Judy was falling directly into his paws. He had even paid off several of the officers in her station to make sure Judy was the one who went undercover. Multiple dummy companies had been set up so they money couldn't be traced back to him.

He licked his chops as he saw Nick ravaging the bunny. This kind of treatment could cause the mental breakdown of even the strongest animals. That was what he was planning on. When the time came he would have his spokesman for X1025.

Judy yawned and opened her eyes. For the briefest of moments, she was shocked to see the pile of red fur in her bed before all of the previous night's memories flooded back. She closed her eyes again and took a few long calming breaths. She would get through this. Glancing at the clock she saw it was almost ten at night. That meant she had been asleep for over twelve hours. The bunny looked at the fox in her bed and smiled, he made a cozy bed mate, his face looking so peaceful as he slept. She left the bedroom and headed for a shower. The hot water and soothing music from a shower radio left her feeling relaxed and almost at peace. Things always looked brighter after a long night's sleep. Razor didn't know who she was. Who cared if he released some grainy video of two animals. Her fur was died and she was wearing a ridiculous outfit. She doubted anyone would be able to piece it together. Judy's thoughts drifted to Nick. She trusted him completely. What had happened wasn't his fault or his intention. He had a good heart that one.

On an impulse Judy picked up her phone and dialed the closest delivery place that catered to both predators and prey; ordering way too much food for both of them. All meat products had become lab produced instead of relying on the slaughter and butcher of animals. One of the major turning points in letting prey and predators live together peacefully. Snapping her phone shut, she went to her closet to put on something that was a bit more modest; sliding on a pair of comfy pajama pants so she was practically fully dressed. The rabbit returned to the living room to relax on the couch while waiting for the delivery to arrive.

Nick felt a prod on his back and let out an audible groan, brushing off what had poked him. The prod returned, more insistent this time. Unable to ignore the poking the fox opened his eyes. Judy sat on the bed in front of him holding what looked like a piece of fried chicken in front of his muzzle. His last meal had been almost a day ago leaving him famished. With a grin he leaned forward and ate the morsel from her fingers, savoring the salt and fat of the fried chicken.

Nick chuckled, looking to Judy, "You sure know how to wake a fox up."

The rabbit nodded and offered a warm smile. "Well, consider this a peace offering. We have a lot to talk about and I figured that kind of conversation would go over a lot better on a full stomach. Come out the living room when you're ready." Judy deliberately eyed his hidden body under the covers making a point of his nakedness before turning and leaving the bedroom.

Nick blushed under his fur while getting out of bed and looking for his clothes. He found them still on the floor of the bathroom. His sensitive nose easily picked up the stale stink of the clubs aroma still on them and he grimaced before sliding his legs into the jeans. He picked up the shirt just to discard it again, his mind rebelling against putting on the cigarette smoke tainted shirt. The fox walked back out into the living room wearing only his pants to be greeted by a ridiculous spread of food. Judy was just sitting down herself and he took the chair next to her.

"When you order a meal, you really order a meal." He grinned picking up another piece of chicken.

The rabbit gave him a thoughtful grin, "Well, I didn't think now was the time to skimp on portions."

The pair initially sat in mostly silenced as they tackled the large amount of food in front of them. As the meal wore on they became chattier, talking about food types, what their favorite dishes were, or their mom's cooking. Finally, as the meal began to wind down, Judy got up and pulled something out of the fridge. Nick was surprised to see she held a beer in her paw.

"I didn't think you drink." He said questioningly.

"Well, I don't but I got this a month or so ago, the last time you were at my apartment complex just in case." Judy said, her face blushing a bit.

Nick popped the cap and took a long sip. It wasn't his favorite brand or type of brew and the beer itself was rather stale but it was perfect after the large meal. He stood and helped Judy collect the remnants of the meal, popping them in plastic containers and pushing them into her refrigerator.

Judy led the way to a comfortable couch, taking a seat, letting Nick sit next to her; each leaning on their respective arms of the sofa. Nick took a sip of his beer and waited, letting Judy start the conversation.

"I don't blame you for what happened." The bunny said, starting out. "Before you say anything I wanted to thank you. You took that pill, knowing full well that Razor had intended for me to take it. It could have easily killed you." Having said that, her eyes narrowed a bit. "But. Nothing gave you that right to make the choice for both of us. I can handle myself. White I really appreciate what you did…" Judy paused here for a moment to reach over and squeeze his arm. "I don't want you putting yourself into danger on my account. We're partners right? I could have handled it."

Nick was surprised with his partner. She was made of sterner stuff then he would have imagined. The fear in her eyes was real the night before. She had obviously come to terms with the situation faster than he had. "Carrots, let's be honest with ourselves. It's been your dream to be a cop for your entire life. I've been an officer for all of a month now. I didn't want to see the death of our first bunny cop, especially when I could have stopped it. I don't think I could have forgiven myself for that. I saw the only logical decision I had and I took it. I won't apologize for what I did and I would do it again."

The bunny gritted her teeth, she did not want to see her best friend and partner die in an attempt to save her. She would make sure this circumstance didn't come up again. Nick had opened her eyes to the many amazing things about Zootopia, she wouldn't see him die. Even if she was forced to do something drastic. "I'll give you this one." She said in compromise, "But try not to take any bullets for me, ya silly fox." Judy winked and gave the fox a playful punch.

Nick grinned in reply before pulling her into a warm hug, the pair squeezing equally hard. "Well it's about time I get out of here. I'm really ready for a fresh set of clothes, plus it's nearly midnight and we have a long day tomorrow. We have to buy some drugs." Nick said. "I wonder if they will give some more free samples." He joked.

The bunny playfully punched him in the arm. "Go ahead and get out of here. I'll see you tomorrow in the AM."

The fox grinned before quickly heading to the bathroom to find his smelly shirt and heading out the door. What had started out as a devastating morning, that he thought would tear his friendship apart, had left him with a new spirit of vigor. He was determined to catch these criminals. They had paid the hefty price of entry into the drug cartel and now they would bring the whole thing crashing down. He would see that damn Razor rot in prison for as long as he lived for what he had done to Judy. That thought alone giving him a reason to really smile.


	6. Chapter 6

Nick opened his eyes and stretched, letting out a loud yawn, hearing his joints pop. After smacking his lips a few times, he rolled out of bed and stumbled toward the shower. The jet of cold water that poured from the shower gave him a nasty shock. He always managed to forget to let the water warm up for a few seconds before jumping underneath the stream. The fox felt fully awake as he lathered up his fur, his mind drifting to his partner. Judy was unique and incredible. There was such a drive of energy about her, she wasn't the kind to sit around and let the world pass her by. She was always in the thick of things. Nick chuckled to himself, they were definitely in the thick of things now. That rabbit had the cutest smile, he thought to himself not bothering to chastise himself for these kinds of thoughts. Before his imagination could wander too far, he was out of the shower and into the vented hot air stall that was common place in most animal's homes. Jets of warm air hit him from all sides, drying his fur in a few minutes instead of having to wait hours after a towel dry.

Nick left the bathroom and pulled on one of his favorite outfits. It was his lime green shirt and khaki pants combination. Judy always gave him grief for it, but he figured it was ideal for an undercover agent who would soon be carrying sixty thousand dollars' worth of drugs. After one final inspection in the mirror, with a flash of his pearly whites, he was out the door. The fox made a quick side trip before meeting Judy at their usual corner.

The bunny saw him coming from a block away, but he still tried to surprise her with the hot tea that he held out to her. "Hot tea with a hint of carrot flavoring." He said, before slightly grimacing, "Carrots in tea… You bunnies sure like carrots. Way to break out of that stereotype." Nick winked at her, taking a sip of his own drink, a blindingly hot double espresso.

Judy shrugged, "It reminds me of home. My parents were carrot farmers after all. We found a lot of uses for carrots… The way grandmother tells it, her family invented carrot cake." She took a deep sip of the tea and smiled with pleasure. There was something calming and pleasurable in having the tea that so deeply reminded her of home.

"Chief Bogo called this morning. He wasn't too happy about our rather abrupt disappearance after the undercover work. I had practically a dozen missed calls on my phone this morning. We are going to meet him in a vacant office building a few blocks away from the station. It's a bit of a walk so we better get going." Judy turned and started walking in the direction but fell back behind Nick. She noticed early on his ability to maneuver through city crowds efficiently was a skill she was happy to take advantage of. The pair idly chit chatted, when the spacing on the sidewalk allowed, about nothing in particular; mostly concentrating on how so many different types of animals could live together as peacefully as they did. Having lived in the heavily rabbit populated town of, Bunnyburrow, this fact still made her grin. If this many animals could live together peacefully, surely Nick and herself could find a way to be together. She blushed a bit at this thought and returned her focus and eyes to where she was walking.

It was apparent that Chief Bogo was in a black mood as they entered the small unfurnished office where he sat on a cheap folding chair. "Good morning you two." He said, his voice sounding strained. "Sit."

Judy and Nick took seats next to each other sharing a quick glance before focusing on the Chief.

"What happened the night before last? You two were supposed to be debriefed by myself and Gray. All I get is a hurried phone call from Nick and then nothing." Chief Bogo was practically shouting; Judy shrinking under the verbal onslaught.

"We were utterly exhausted." Nick offered, "That clown Razor kept us there overnight. So we were both running on zero sleep that morning and just needed to get some sleep before a debrief. We are here now, ask us anything you want."

Judy grinned inwardly at the fox's assertive tone. Apparently, the water buffalo was taken aback as well from the look on his face.

"Very well." Bogo said, "Let's start from the moment you left Gray's car to the moment you walked out of the club. What happened?"

The fox broke into the details of their mission, starting out with waiting in line to get into the club. He skipped over the flirting with the fox. Had he really done that? The idea of flirting with a random girl in a club seemed so hollow now. Nick continued his story, listening to Chief Bogo madly scribble notes in his notebook. When he got to the part about going into the back room and getting drugged. He invented a story of being forced to stay under lock and key while Razor did some preliminary background internet sleuthing to see if he could find any flaws in their story. As the lie unfolded, Nick found it became easier and easier to weave his web of lies. The story flowed as he added small very reasonable details. The fox glanced at his partner and saw she was grabbing the edge of her seat tight enough to turn her knuckles white. His tail, as if on its own accord found its way behind her chair, lightly brushing across her lower back. At a second glance he saw her paws relax and a tiny nearly imperceptible smile cross her face.

"Now, onto the drug buy. It's this evening? Doesn't give us a long time to prepare. They planned to have it in the industrial sector? Of course they do. No cameras." Bogo said fuming.

Zootopia had no official heavy industrial sector. The industrial sector of Zootopia mostly referred to the massive machines used to create the separate ecosystems. Massive cooling, heating, and water systems worked in tandem to create every different environment in Zootopia. It had been a massive undertaking to build the foundation of the city. The machines were mostly automated and so well designed that maintenance was minimal. Vast catacombs, comprised of networks of tunnels, ran underneath Zootopia. In several extremely large vaulted chambers near the center of the city, several hundred feet underground, housed most of the machinery. This was where Razor wanted to meet. There were five or six service entrances, large enough to drive a vehicle into, that served as the main arteries to the machinery. Dozens of smaller maintenance tunnels snaked their way out into each ecosystem.

"I've never been in there." Nick said, looking to Judy who shook her head as well.

"Not many animals go in there. It's poorly lit, and one can easily get lost." Chief Bogo replied before pulling out his cellphone and clicking send. He had Clawhauser on speed dial. Judy's sensitive ears easily picked up the cheetah's animated hello, despite the phone being pressed tight to the water buffalo's ear. "I want to have the city's chief engineer calling my cell in ten minutes Clawhauser." He practically growled into the phone, skipping any greeting. Clawhauser made a speedy confirmation and Chief Bogo, ended the call and shoved the phone back into his pocket.

"Okay, I'll get the details on what you can expect to see when you go in there. This operation is, unfortunately, going to be again completely unaided. We have confirmed that there is definitely a leak in the force, but we aren't any closer to nailing down any suspects. Are you two up for the job?" Bogo said, his gaze shifting back and forth between the animals in front of him.

Judy spoke first, her voice strong and eager with conviction. "Yes, absolutely. We will see this through to the end."

The Chief looked to Nick but he just offered a sly grin and pointed to Judy with his thumb indicating that what she said goes for both of them. The water buffalo nodded and started to help the pair plan out the details; where they would go undercover again, what vehicle they would drive, and all the minor details needed to be safe as possible. The chief engineer of Zootopia called right on time and the four of them, the engineer on speakerphone, went over the details of the layout of the industrial zone.

Throughout the long conversation, Judy could feel the soft brush of the fox's tail against her, giving her a sense of comfort. The details were finally set and Nick and Judy stood up and left the office building. The bunny felt full of energy, excited but scared at the same time. She was not looking forward to seeing Razor again. His devilishly clever eyes seemed to look right through their undercover costumes and see them as they truly were. She tried to shrug the thought off but it still nagged at her. Something seemed off about him. Judy looked up to nick and smiled, she was so glad he would be there with her.

"All right Carrots", Nick said with a smile. "Looks like we have time for a quick bite to eat before we head out. In the mood for anything in particular?"

Judy grinned and nodded, leading the way. "There is this great Thai cuisine place that is tucked off the main street ahead. It's a hole-in-the-wall place so we shouldn't see any other officers in there that could blow our cover."

The pair had dinner, their conversation light and enjoyable. With each passing day the two seemed to become more and more comfortable in each other's presence; revealing more and more about their lives growing up. The pair shared their own quirks, likes, and dislikes; each eager to earn more about the other. After they shared a meal, the two split up once again, to head to their respective homes and don the final pieces of their disguises.

Nick started the engine in the old four door sedan with Judy sitting next to him. They were all set. He had the cash in a briefcase sitting in between the bunny's knees. Each of them once again wore their respective costumes for the undercover operation. Judy more so then Nick who was still wearing his lime green shirt and khaki pants combination. Gray and Chief Bogo were there to give them their send off, relaying with them some final details of the operation.

The fox put the car in gear and merged onto the highway. After a few short minutes the pair arrived at one of the main tunnels that would take them down into the belly of Zootopia. About five miles of tunnel separated them from the meeting spot. The tunnel was characterized by a dim yellow light every tenth mile, barely providing any illumination, forcing Nick to rely on the car's two misaligned headlights for navigation.

Judy's paw reached over to Nick, gently pulling one his paws from the steering wheel and squeezing gently. The fox adjusted his alternate paw to drive one pawed and glanced at Judy, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Won't be long now, Carrots." He said, his soothing voice reassuring. "I'm positive this will be much more straight forward then our last meeting. We hand them the money and they give us the drugs."

Judy nodded and smiled, squeezing the fox's paw. "I'm sure you're right. I just wish we could have met some place that was a bit less doom-and-gloom." She said, pointing out the window to the bare cement that was highlighted with each passing overhead light.

After a twenty-minute drive, the pair approached the first industrial chamber. A placard bolted to the side of the entrance read, 'Cooling/Heating Dist. 1'. The officers were dumbstruck with how large a chamber they were in. The ceiling must have been over a hundred feet above them, which was lit just enough so they could make out steel rafters spreading out from the center like a spider's legs. Their view of the room was largely blocked by a dozen or so massive machines. Metal ducts, electrical conduits, and maintenance ladders spread over each like vines on a forest tree. Each machine made a low throbbing hum that seemed to nearly vibrate their chests. Massive vents were ducted into the front of each mechanism, leading off to a different ecosystem.

The fox drove in between these monstrous machines obscuring most of the view of the ceiling. Each one had a large yellow number painted on it. They were meeting in between five and six. As they reached the intersection, Nick turned down and saw several vehicles already parked. He drove up and carefully made an eight-point turn so the front of his vehicle faced the exit. His experience with action movies led him to believe that a fast getaway was a must. Finally, he turned the key and the car died. The fox and bunny sat silence for a long moment.

"Are you ready?" Nick said to Judy, squeezing her paw.

"As ready as I'll ever be. Let's do this." Judy said, returning the squeeze before climbing out of the passenger door, holding onto the suitcase full of money.

A group of mammals was clustered near the rear end of a massive SUV. The trunk was open and to Nick and Judy's dismay, they realized they were too short to clearly see what was in the back of the vehicle. Razor waited and watched with a sly smile as they walked up.

"Well, speak of the devil." Razor said, "And here I just lost a bet. I didn't think you two would show."

"We're here. Do you have the product?" Judy said, her tone as cold as ice.

"I've got it. Do you have the cash?" Razor said, reaching into the vehicle and pulling out a bag filled with a pinkish powder.

"I've got it. Every last cent you asked for." Judy replied, handing over the suitcase to one of Razor's goons who immediately placed it down in the back of the vehicle, popping open the latches, with audible clicks.

Razor reached in and rifled through some of the neatly organized stacks, before nodding to another one of his goons who produced a portable currency counting machine. "It's not that I don't trust you, rabbit. It's just that I don't trust anyone."

The little machine, flew through the money, it's little seven segmented display's readout climbing at an incredible rate. When the last bill was counted, the display read '$60,000.00'.

"Well look at that, glad to know bunny's like you aren't full of shit." He said with a grin, producing a tiny foldable table from the back of the SUV and placing the bag on top of it. "Here you go. One kilo of uncut Goodnight Kiss."

Nick stepped forward and pulled a portable scale from a pocket, laying it down on the table. He reached and lifted the drug, dropping it down on top of the scale. As expected the number read exactly 1.000 kg.

"Looks like you're not the only one who is surprised, Razor." Nick said, looking to the neon fox. "Well, happy doing business with you. How will we contact you, when we need more? Going into that club… seems a bit inconvenient."

"A bit inconvenient!" Razor said laughing, looking around to his goons. "You're exactly right. It's a drug bust just waiting to happen." He produced an older looking cellphone from his pocket and handed it to Judy. "There is just one number programmed into that phone. It will reach someone who can help you. Also, if it rings you had better pick up. Missing a call could have lethal results." Razor said with another evil looking grin.

Judy pocketed the phone and the undercover officers started to back away toward their vehicle.

"Wait a minute." Razor commanded. "Don't you want to try the product? We might be selling you two pounds of pink chalk."

Nick was afraid of this. It was customary for customers to always try the drug to prove it was in fact the real deal and uncut. It would look odd, if he didn't. There was no trust in circles like this.

He shrugged and dropped the bag back onto the table before opening the top.

"Just wait a second there." Razor said his voice turning cold and acidic. "She has to be the one to test it." He said, pointing to his rabbit partner. He pulled out a small looking metal object which took Nick a moment to realize was an ancient pistol. "I insist."

Judy shrugged and stepped forward confidently. She would be damned if she was going to show fear in front of an asshole like this. "Whatever you want." She said, opening the bag.

Razor grinned and leaned in. "It's so much easier to snort when it's in its powdered form."

The bunny used the edge of a plastic card, she was able to produce from her pockets, and scooped up a small mound of the drug. Judy paused for a moment, but before she could reconsider, she raised the card to her noise and gave a strong sniff. She hoped she gave off the impression of someone used to taking drugs.

The neon fox and his goons watched her expectantly as she stood there, taking hold of the bag of powder. The rabbit turned to Nick and nodded, "It's the real stuff. Let's get out of here." The pair turned and began walking toward the car before climbing into their sedan. He started the engine with a loud roar, and tore off away from the crowd of animals, leaving Razor with a very satisfied grin on face.

Unbeknownst to the two undercover officers, there was another animal who had been watching them. High above on one of the machines, stood a black cat holding a large digital camera with what was a huge telephoto lens. He took pictures of the deal, but mostly focused on Judy when she leaned down and snorted the raw drug. Making sure to get a picture of her face with the white powder clinging to her fur around her nose. His boss would be happy. His only instructions were, 'get close-ups of her taking the drug'. He had done exactly that.

Nick drove the car fast out of the industrial zone and back into the long tunnel leading to the exit. He was afraid to push the old car too hard with the narrowness of the tunnel really limiting his speed.

"Of course they would expect us to test the drug. Stupid. Stupid." Nick fumed, his fingers holding onto the steering wheel with a death grip. "We are going straight to the hospital. I'll call Chief Bogo as soon as we get out of this blasted tunnel. We can check you in anonymously. No arguing. we're going."

Almost immediately after Judy tested the drug she began to feel it's effects. As with cocaine, taking a drug orally the user only absorbs about thirty percent. When Judy snorted it, she got the full dose directly into her blood stream. Not as strong as Nick's dose from their previous experience, but still stronger than the street drug. Good Night Kiss was engineered quickly and thought wasn't given into how it would be administered or abused. The doctor's and chemists who created it, had always intended it to be taken as an oral and never snorted.

Judy just grinned and scooted over closer to Nick. "Don't be such a party pooper, I feel amazing. I can see what you meant when you took it." Judy leaned in and give Nick's cheek a kiss and a lick.

"My god, Judy. Now is not the time! I'm trying to keep this car from crashing. Just hold on another fifteen minutes." The fox said desperately, using his right paw to fend off the rabbit.

Judy just giggled and nipped playfully at his outstretched paw, before reaching for it and pushing it to her chest, holding his paw to her breast. The fox recoiled, trying to withdraw his paw but he ended up just pulling Judy back to his side of the car.

The car gave an ear splitting screech as his steering faltered and he side swiped the left side of the tunnel. Judy just gave out a lusty moan, squeezing her paw over his, pressing herself into his grip. Nick was now flying through the tunnel, losing all thought of trying to keep the car from hitting the walls. He used them more as guides, letting the car ping pong off them. The rabbit beside him just shook with pleasure and started to push his paw down below her waste.

"I'm so wet for you." Judy murmured, "Here, feel." She said as she pushed his paw under her skirt and up against her panties.

Nick choked as he felt her damp panties under his fingers. "Carrots just relax. We are almost out of here." The fox tried to focus on driving, but Judy's scent was filling the car and his body was quickly reacting to it. He shook his head, trying to keep his eyes on the tunnel at the same time.

"I love that you were my first. I needed a manly fox like you to take my virginity." Judy said, practically humping his paw with her body.

Nick gasped at her words. He would have never guessed she was a virgin. Her first experience was… He didn't have the luxury of any thoughts besides keeping the car centered in the tunnel.

In a blinding flash, the car shot out of the tunnel like a rocket, sparks trailing on both sides of the car. Free of the tunnel, Nick jerked his paw free from the bunny's grasp and yanked his cellphone free, calling Chief Bogo on speakerphone.

"Chief, Judy was forced to take the drug. We are headed to the nearest hospital." Nick practically shouted into the phone, over Judy's moans.

The Chief's reply was short and to the point. "We will meet you there."

The last five minutes of the ride were near torture for the Fox. He was fully engorged in his pants, a fact that the rabbit wanted to take full advantage of. Keeping the old sedan in one lane, proved nearly impossible as the bunny kept lunging at his erection. With a screech of rubber Nick made a hard turn into the hospital's emergency entrance. With a slam, he threw opened his door and dragged himself free of the car. Judy's clutch on his waste was so strong she was pulled out after him.

The squealing of the tires had caught the attention of several large orderlies who came running out with a stretcher. The gave Nick a quizzical look as Judy tried with all her might, to pull his trousers down.

"She's been poisoned. It's the new street drug, Goodnight Kiss. Help her!", Nick practically shouted, causing the orderlies to jump.

The sprang into action, grabbing Judy and strapping her to the gurney and pushing her through the hospital doors. Nick ran to keep up with her, but was restrained at the doors by a large gray wolf wearing scrubs. "We've got it from here. We need to keep her isolated. She doesn't need to be further… stimulated." The wolf stuttered with the last few words, avoiding the fox's eyes.

"Nick!" The fox wheeled around to see both Gray and Chief Bogo jogging up from their police cruiser. "What happened? Where is Judy?"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Mature themes

Nick took long deep calming breaths as he sat outside Judy's hospital room. As if a sudden weight had appeared on his back, the fox slumped in his chair; holding his head in his paws. He had just finished explaining to the Chief and Gray what had happened in the industrial area. They both left shortly after, Gray heading off to start doing some background work on the animals Nick described and Chief Bogo had to get back to the police station.

The red fox felt utterly drained, his good mood from the morning had evaporated like a spilled drink on sun baked pavement. This case couldn't be over soon enough. Nick shook his head, his black tipped ears wagging back and forth, trying to clear his mind. He had to put on a brave face for Judy, he knew she relied on him to be strong. She was going to be okay, or at least that what was the nurse had said to him as she had left Judy's room. The otter nurse smiled reassuringly and that it was alright for him to come in and visit. The fox steeled himself, forcing his face back into his sly smile that Judy had come to find so endearing.

Slipping through the closed door with the presence of a mouse, Nick tiptoed in to see Judy sleeping peacefully. She lay with a white sheet up to her stomach. Her clothes had been removed and in their place was a hospital gown. Her face was the mask of an angel as she slept, all the tension gone from her face. The fox moved closer, peering down at the rabbit. He silently wished that this case had never fallen upon them. Judy was such a sweet and trusting person she didn't deserve any of this. His mind drifted back to the very first time they met; a twinge of guilt passed through him at the simple scam he had pulled. Judy had been so excited to help him. She still retained that trusting innocence which drew Nick in. He had always had a hard time trusting anyone who wasn't a fox. This rabbit though, was different. She saw through his fox face and red fur to the animal he was underneath.

Nick reached a paw and gently brushed it across Judy's cheek. The fur on her face was exquisitely soft that he couldn't help but draw his paw down to her shoulder.

The rabbit slowly awoke to the feeling of a paw in her fur. As her eyes opened a red visage swathed in lime green appeared before her eyes. Nick's half grin and relaxed demeanor greeted her eyes. She couldn't help but return the smile as she shook off the last remanence of her nap.

"Hey you." The fox said, his voice low. "How ya' feeling?"

Judy's violet eyes found Nick's gaze and she gave a slight shrug. "I'm okay, a bit of a headache. Everything is a bit hazy after I took Midnight Kiss."

Nick chuckled and moved to sit on her hospital bed, so that his legs dangled off the side. The fox's red tail fell across the rabbit's lap, several red hairs finding themselves attached to the white linen. "Well, you did get a bit rambunctious." He grinned, "Especially for a little bunny." Nick said, reaching over to playfully rub her head. "You should see the car, I had a hell of a time driving back with your paws trying to find their way into certain places."

She chuckled softly, both of them trying to ignore the seriousness of the situation. The drug could have easily killed her, despite being at the hospital. Some animal's brains just couldn't handle the influx of stimulants causing strokes and comas. Judy reached for Nick's paw and squeezed it in hers. "Well, if I'm to look like an idiot, at least it wasn't in front of anyone important." She said with a sly grin.

Nick's body seemed to go limp at her joke, like a balloon with all the air leaking out. He reached down to hug his friend holding her tight to him before whispering. "I've never been more scared in my life. I thought the worst would happen." He drew a few ragged breaths, his chest shuddering, before pulling himself together. He then withdrew and leaned down to kiss her cheek. Judy, seeing him moving in, tilted her head slightly so he kissed her lips instead. The fox's eyebrows went up but he didn't pull back. Their kiss was simple and light. After a few moments, Nick pulled back and gazed down at the bunny, "Carrots we…"

With a loud crash, the door to Judy's hospital room flew open and a loud happy squeal pierced the room. Clawhauser had arrived. The well-proportioned cheetah waddled up to Judy's bedside practically pushing the fox out of the way. "Oh my God!", Clawhauser said, his usually loud voice seemed even louder in the enclosed space. "When I heard from the Chief that you had been taken to the hospital I got over here as fast as possible. Mind you, getting Bogo to tell me why you had disappeared over the last few days was a heck of a challenge." The big cat's eyes suddenly went wide and his stream of chatter came to an abrupt halt. "Judy. You're… you're… brown! Why the heck did you do that? Not that I mind. I think the shade really brings out your eyes. Oh, which reminds me! I brought you something. It was just a quick stop on my way over here." Clawhauser pulled from behind his ample back a white cardboard box, handing it to Judy. "Go ahead an open it."

The brown rabbit grinned and opened the package. To her surprise it was… doughnuts! A dozen doughnuts were packed in three rows at the bottom of the box. Each was frosted with white icing and decorated with lovely little carrots, each accented with a little white smiley face. Judy looked up and grinned. "Benjamin! You shouldn't have!" She picked up one and took a bite. Her mouth exploded with the sweet rush of sugar, a precursor to the rich taste of carrot cake. "Carrot Cake doughnuts!?" Judy said through a mouthful of frosting. "Thank you so much!" The rabbit said, eagerly finishing off the confection, her smile wide with appreciation. Judy went on to explain their rather unique predicament that led her to being dyed brown and ending up in the hospital. She left out some of the more… romantic details, but wove a quick yarn; hitting all of the high points.

Nick had backed away from the pair. He hadn't known Officer Clawhauser as long as his partner and they were still getting to know each other. His expression returned to that of arelaxed grin with an outward demeanor of casual disinterest. Despite his outward appearance, his heart still hammered with the kiss. It had definitely crossed the line from friends into something more. He was happy though, Judy had instigated it and he had accepted it. He might be the first fox to become attached to a bunny, but as he looked at Judy in her hospital bed, he knew she had his heart. Nick's thoughts were interrupted by the cheetah turning to him.

"You have to try one, they are delicious!" Clawhauser grinned and proffered the box.

 _Carrots, ugh._ Nick thought to himself but still grabbed one from the box. They sure did smell promising though. He reached in and pulled out a particularly tasty looking one and took a big bite. A big grin spread on his face as he chewed the delicacy. "Wow, for a vegetable these taste great! Finally, I can get behind eating carrots."

Judy laughed, "Well, you will just have to try my grandma's secrete carrot cake recipe. They will really knock your socks off." Judy then pointed to the door. "Now if you boys don't mind giving a lady some privacy. I'll change out of this hospital gown and we can get out of here. Hospitals give me the creeps."

Nick laughed and nodded, "I'll be outside. C'mon spots, and bring that box of doughnuts, I think I want another one."

Judy watched the pair go, and smiled to herself. This had been a rollercoaster day in a rollercoaster week, but she felt so happy knowing that Nick was feeling some of what she was feeling. That knowledge blasted through her fear, concern, and embarrassment she had faced throughout the day. At this moment, she didn't care that the hospital staff has seen her act like a wanton slut. The red fox's green eyes had said everything that his words could not. He had been scared to the bone of losing her. _I'm not going anywhere._ Judy thought with a grin. The brown bunny pulled her folded dress off of the cabinet and pulled it on over her head. She turned her nose up at the panties, deciding it would be better to just drop those in the trash and find a fresh pair when she got home.

Judy left her hospital room to find a red fox and a spotted cheetah working on their fourth doughnut a piece. Clawhauser's eyes nearly bugged out of his sockets as he saw the dress Judy was wearing. It was cut in such a fashion that it showed off much more of the bunny then the cheetah had ever seen. The rabbit blushed as she saw Clawhauser's reaction.

"Let's get out of here!" Judy said, marching off down the hall. The cheetah didn't pause as he wolfed down the last of the confections, dropping the box into a convenient waste basket and following her out of the hospital with the red fox in tow.

"I need to get home and change." The rabbit said gesturing to her attire. "Plus me and red over there need to have a chat." Judy said pointing over to Nick who couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her. "Thank you so much for coming to see me, Benjamin." Judy said, moving and giving him a bow. She briefly considered a hug, but with her height only coming up to the cheetah's belt buckle she decided against it.

After the cheetah's departure, Nick placed his paw across the rabbit's shoulders. "Why not stop at my apartment first. It's much closer than yours. I'm sure I've got something you could put on in the meantime.

Judy thought for the briefest of moments before agreeing with the fox. "That sounds like a splendid idea! I've been wanting to see what kind of fox den you have for yourself."

The pair left the hospital, walking the short distance to Nick's apartment. Judy was surprised when the fox steered them toward an apartment building that was generally reserved for the wealthier inhabitants of Zootopia, complete with doorman and valet parking.

"You live here?" Judy said with a gasp. "How can you afford this?"

Nick chuckled, "Well I can't. But, I found a way around paying rent. My apartment technically belongs to a major bank conglomerate and it's supposed to be reserved for the executives who come in on business travel. I happen to have helped one of the board members out of a tight spot with the law and he is letting me live here rent free."

The rabbit looked at her companion indignantly, "Nick! You're a police officer now! This goes against everything we stand for. If you were discovered, you would be kicked off the force!"

"No one is going to find out. I helped the executive out three years ago, before I joined the force. What I did wasn't exactly illegal. It was a gray area. Which happens to be my specialty." Nick said with a grin, before walking into a gold trimmed elevator and pushing a button for floor forty two.

Judy huffed and followed the fox into the elevator. After a short wait, the doors opened upon a softly lit hallway. Nick led them down the hallway, taking a right after the first intersection and stopped at apartment 4232. "Welcome to my home, Carrots." He said, opening the door with his key and stepping in, pulling the rabbit in after him.

The bunny was greeted with the site of a gorgeously furnished apartment. The tall ceilings were lit artistically by tall expensive looking floor lamps with a decorative chandelier hanging from the middle of the room. The carpet under her paws looked soft and plush, she felt compelled to kick off her shoes. Accents of marble and dark mahogany were artfully placed to help attract the eye to certain features of the apartment. Large glass windows opened upon what looked like a large balcony with…

"Is that a Jacuzzi?!" The rabbit looked at Nick incredulously. "This is too much. This is a palace." Judy couldn't help but grin like a child as she kicked off her shoes and moved into Nick's place. The luxury was beyond anything she could imagine. "I can't believe what I'm seeing. I would have never imagined."

"Well yeah, If I was to tell everyone about this, it wouldn't be long before this secret slipped out and I would be out of this sweet pad. Now how about I get you something to wear besides that dress." Nick said, moving into his bedroom.

Judy followed the fox, her expression of shock seeming almost permanent as she entered his massive bedroom which looked larger than her entire apartment. The center of his bedroom was filled with a massive mahogany four poster bed, complete with silk drapes and golden comforter. Nick led her into the walk-in closet and opened a large dresser. He pulled out several articles of clothing.

"These should fit. I hope you don't mind wearing some guy's clothes." The fox said, handing her some soft cotton shorts and a t-shirt with the logo of a local sports team. He pointed her to the bathroom. "You can get changed in there, I'll be in the kitchen. Hungry?"

The rabbit nodded dumbly, still overwhelmed by everything. She moved off into the bathroom, turning the lights on, and shutting the door. Her paws pulled the dress over her head and she headed to the mirror and peered at her reflection. What greeted her eyes was the image of a chocolate brown naked bunny. She did miss her gray fur, but she did like the glamourous feeling the new color gave her. She looked at her breasts, and not for the first time, wished they could have been just a bit bigger. Her legs bore the characteristics of her species. Large muscles in her thighs and quads left little doubt that the little bunny was incredibly fast. Her thighs tapered down to small calves and then finally to her leporid feet. Between the gap in her thighs, just a hint of her sex was visible. A small pink opening hidden by chocolate fur.

 _It had been a long week._ Judy thought to herself as she pulled on the cotton shorts and shirt. They didn't fit her too poorly. The fact that they smelled of Nick made her grin, she was growing more and more found of his scent. With one final glance in the mirror, Judy headed out the door, turning out the light in the process. After a few dozen steps, she discovered the kitchen. Nick was putting different veggies, cheeses, and meats on a large cutting board. She saw two frosted mugs filled to the top with beer.

"Beer?" Judy said, looking questioningly at the fox.

"Well, I figured this week has been a lot of firsts for the both of us. I know I need one. I think we could both use a bit of relaxation." He said with a shrug. "I've got some other drinks if you prefer."

"Well, I might as well give it a try. I think you're right though. I've always shied away from the stuff. My family always promoted healthy eating and living. My father called it, 'The devil's drink'. What the hell. My dad would be shocked at pretty much everything that has happened over the past week." Judy laughed to herself and picked up the glass, taking an extremely large gulp. She coughed and cringed at the bitter flavor of the hops and malt. "Uhg! It sure tastes harsh."

Nick laughed, "Well it is a bit of an acquired taste. Usually, people start drinking it more for the effect more than the flavor. Just be glad we aren't tribesman in the Himalayas where they are known to drink fermented mares milk." He gestured toward the living room, holding his own beer and the plate of snacks. "Let's go sit on the couch, the sunset is gorgeous from here."

The pair moved their conversation onto the couch, where they were bathed in the light of the dipping sun. The orange backdrop of the sky giving the apartment a warm and relaxed glow.

"Judy." "Nick." Both the fox and the rabbit said at the same time.

"You go first." Judy said, taking another long sip of her beer, managing not to cringe at the flavor.

"Carrots, this last week was hell. Everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong. After that first night in the club, I felt for sure you would hate me forever. But you didn't. You looked past that, just like you did from before, when we first met. You're a rare animal, Judy Hopps. Not many can look at me without prejudice clouding their perception. The time we spend together has become the highlight of my day. I feel like I can truly share myself with you and not have to hide behind some false persona. There are things about me you still don't know, but I want to share them with you. I want you to know the real me. I have never felt like I could open up like this." The fox's eyes almost looked sad as he spoke. "Ever since that fateful day in the scouts, I have pushed other animals away. Sometimes, I wonder if even I know who I am anymore. I thought I was happy going through life, acting the like a fox who knew everything, but it was a hollow existence. Everyone who knew me only saw what I wanted them to see. I felt like I was manipulating everyone. That was until we crossed paths. You were different Judy. I don't know how you did it, but you saw through my lies and schemes to who I was inside. I've been trying to understand how and why. It's taken me this long to understand my feelings for you." The fox had to stop, his breaths becoming shallow as emotion overtook him, his eyes drifting down to knees.

Judy sipped at her beer continuously while listening to the fox talk. Without realizing it she had finished the beer and was holding an empty glass as Nick trailed off. The bunny plopped the glass down on the coffee table and slid over pushing her arms around Nick's body. The top of her head not quite making it to the fox's chin so she pushed her face into his chest, nuzzling the fur that protruded out of the top of his shirt. Her paws gripped him tightly through his shirt as she held onto him, feeling his breath against the top of her ears.

"Nick, that was beautiful." Judy said, looking up into the fox's green eyes. "I want to know everything about you. I want you to know everything about me. I don't want there to be any secrets. We have already shared so much. As you know I worked my entire life to be the best, just to get the opportunity to get my foot in the door. When I finally made it, I was delegated into the lackluster, unimportant role of meter maid. This was utterly crushing. I was ready to call it quits. The only reason I'm even still in this city is because of you. You saved me from a life of unhappiness and mediocrity. When you first opened up to me about how you were bullied because you were a predator, I knew we were kindred spirits, as clichéd as that sounds. I don't know what the future holds, my big red fox, but I know what I want." Judy said, leaning up to kiss his muzzle.

Nick just smiled down at her, returning the kiss, pulling her into his warm embrace. His arms encircled her as the kiss grew more and more passionate. The fox tentatively slipped his tongue out and licked across her lips, seeking entrance. The young rabbit was more than ready for him, opening her muzzle and tasting his tongue for the first time. The kiss deepened as their tongues wrestled back and forth. Judy pushed into his muzzle, the sharp canine teeth dragging across her tongue sending a pleasurable shock through her body. Her paws wandered over his back, pulling him into the kiss. She tilted her head, letting them move even closer together, as she felt his warm tongue slide playfully over the roof of her muzzle.

Nick broke the kiss and looked at Judy, green eyes filled with love and lust. "Let's move somewhere more comfortable." He said, pulling the rabbit behind him as he headed toward the bedroom. The fox flicked the lights off in the living room and his bedroom, the only illumination were the lights from the city. He pulled his beautiful chocolate brown bunny onto his incredibly soft bed before pulling her up his body so that once again their lips met. Tongues tangled in a deep kiss, as his paws now roamed across her back. Nick's paws slid down her back to the bottom of her shirt, sliding underneath and caressing her fur.

Judy moaned into the kiss she was sharing with the fox. All of her worries, fears, and stresses slipped away in the fox's embrace, her mind, body, and soul being completely filled with Nick. Her own body undulated on top of the fox, her cloth covered groin pushing down onto Nick's quickly emerging foxhood.

Nick panted eagerly as Judy squirmed above him. He gently pulled her shirt up and over her head, letting her longs ears slip through before tossing it to the floor. Both of his strong dark paws moved lower, onto the bunny's cute rear. He squeezed gently, before slipping under the elastic waist band and squeezing each of her cheeks, listening to Judy moan above him.

The rabbit lifted herself off of Nick, pausing to look down at the panting canine below her. Her paws found the buttons of his lime green shirt and worked deftly, unbuttoning each before pulling his shirt off. Judy leaned up and licked the side of the fox's face playfully before rubbing her face on his chest again, her flat teeth nibble gently on his pectorals. She moved lower, eager to see what treasure the fox had hidden in his pants. Using both paws, she pulled Nick's pants down exposing his member. Even in the dark she could tell it was large. She was amazed that something so large could have even fit into her. The scent of his soft musk gave her a thrill as she used her paw experimentally on the fox, running her fingertips up and down his length. Nick rewarded her with soft yips and growls of pleasure as she explored his body. Touching wasn't enough for the rabbit, she tentatively probed the tip of his member with her tongue. The taste was thrilling as she dragged her tongue up, over and around his tip before capturing him in her muzzle. Judy suckled on his tip for several long moments before pulling herself back up the red fox's body.

Nick quickly captured Judy's muzzle in another long passionate kiss as he once again pushed his tongue into her mouth. He loved this rabbit. It had taken the fox longer but his heart grew and latched onto Judy's. Using his longer arms, he deftly reached down and pulled the rabbits shorts down so they were both laying naked in each other's arms. He could feel his member drag wetly over her opening as she squirmed above him. Nick was determined to make this last and take it slow for Judy's sake.

Breathing through her nose so as not to break the kiss, the rabbit positioned herself, letting the fox's member slide into place against her folds. Judy gingerly pushed, forcing Nick into herself slowly. Her opening was still a little bit sore from the last time they had come together but there was no stopping now. Judy broke the kiss and panted as his length continued to drive into her, pausing to take several deep breaths midway down. He stretched her to nearly bursting as his canine anatomy continued its assault on her body. After nearly a full minute she found herself fully impaled on Nick, her rump resting against his sheath. 

The fox ran his paws gently over Judy's back, his blunt claws leaving little furrows in her fur. He waited for her to get settled before starting a gentle rocking motion between then. His ears were cocked forward listening to any signs of distress from the bunny. He grinned and leaned up, licking her muzzle, when he heard her soft moans of pleasure. Nick picked the pace up, his member now nearly sliding all way out before diving back in up to the hilt. He moaned with pleasure, his foxhood encased in her silken warmth. The pair kissed again, tongues sliding greedily over one another in a fight for dominance. Nick's right paw moved to her chest, squeezing and cupping a jiggling breast. The fox tried to hold out but he knew he wasn't going to last long, he could already feel his knot start to emerge from his sheath; bumping into Judy's opening.

The rabbit sensed it too. Judy wanted him entirely inside her to complete her second experience with the fox. She began to push back harder against him, feeling herself starting to open up. Her face betrayed small twinges of pain as she felt herself stretched even more. With a quick lunge, the fox slid home, his hips meeting the rabbits as his organ was firmly locked within Judy's body. Nick's instincts took over as he could feel the edge of his peak starting to crest over. His hips moved in short very fast thrusts.

Judy sensed her lover nearing his climax and slipped a paw down in between them to rub the center of pleasure between her legs. Her own pleasure grew until it was nearly bursting from her. Both the fox and the rabbit reached their peaks near simultaneously. Their moans mingled in the air as the fox gave a few more strokes and peaked, his essence flooding Judy's warmth. The rabbit jerked slightly, her own peak arriving as she felt the fox's seed spread into her body. She moaned softly and kissed the fox's nose, her body falling on top of Nick's. The pair panted for several long breaths, before Judy looked up to see the fox's green eyes peering down at her.

"I love you Nick Wilde." Judy said, her body coiled around his.

"And I you Judy Hopps." Nick replied, straining his neck to give her another kiss. Never in his life had he felt so safe and happy. He never wanted this moment to end.

Judy chuckled softly, "I would be lying if I said that your, uhhh… Nick Jr. wasn't a bit uncomfortable. I don't think bunnies were designed to take things that big." She grinned and rubbed the fox's chest. "It's worth ever last bit of pain to be with you completely. I'm sure I'll get used to it in time. Just don't move."

Nick smiled at her words, _get used to it in time._ There would be a next time. Of course there would. The fox poked Judy's nose playfully, making sure his member didn't tug too hard at Judy's opening. "I'm glad to see I did a better job than the first time we got together." He grinned, "Now that we're together, half of the city is going to be disappointed I'm no longer a bachelor."

Judy scoffed, "Fat chance of that. If those women had seen what I've seen, they would run away screaming. I'm probably the only one who could put up with you. Looks like you're stuck with me." The rabbit said tugging her hips, pulling at his trapped member, highlighting the double entendre.

Nick laughed and answered with a kiss, putting his arms around the bunny and gently rolling to the side so he was effectively spooning her. He knew in a few more minutes he would slip free of her, but for now he just enjoyed the feeling of closeness. Nick yanked a blanket that was at the foot of the bed over them, as he curled his body around hers. To his surprise, Judy had fallen into a light doze, her muzzle resting on his upper arm. He just grinned to himself and rested his chin in between her ears, closing his own eyes and following her into dreamland.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Derrick sat up straighter in his chair. The coyote sat at the end of a large gorgeously carved mahogany table in the conference room attached to his office. The table had a few of his very close associates who glanced between their laptops and the presenter. A smart looking raccoon stood in front of the projected image of several logos. He wore a dark blue two button suit with matching gold tie and pocket square. His teeth were almost shockingly white, highlighting his almost constant smile. His voice had the upbeat cadence of a confident salesman as he continued his presentation.

"As I was saying Mr. Byrd. My team at Schwarz Marketing will work around the clock to make sure this product has a successful launch. We can see how launching into a new market for your company will be difficult. We have faced this challenge before and found great success." The raccoon looked at the coyote and gestured to the new slide being projected. "As you can see our numbers are quite impressive. We show a twenty-five percent return within the first quarter."

Derrick grumbled a bit and made a shrug of disinterest. "We aren't looking for a mere twenty-five percent return in the first quarter. We want… I want full market saturation. As I mentioned before we have nearly unlimited funds for this project. I need a better guarantee then a mere twenty-five percent." The coyote tugged out the video cable connecting the raccoon's laptop to the projector. "Here let me show you what we have. My company has already done most of the work for you." He then jammed the video cable into the back of his laptop opening up his own presentation. "Okay." The coyote said gesturing to the initial slide. "We have already procured talent to use for your advertisements. We have Gazelle. She is very eager to join the team." Gazelle's photo flashed up on the screen. "Next we have what we think will be a real crowd pleaser. Miss Judy Hopps. She has agreed to star in commercials, radio ads, and live appearances."

The raccoon looked taken aback. Gazelle was an international superstar loved by millions. She would play well in some areas, but her appeal was limited to fans of pop music. Judy had nearly unilateral appeal among all mammals. Many saw her as a hero and role model. She broke out of the traditional bunny lifestyle to go on and save the predators of Zootopia. "You got Judy? I honestly didn't think she would sell out. Integrity seems to be so integral to her personality."

"I've got a certain way with animals, what can I say?" Derrick said with a grin. The truth being he definitely didn't have Judy's permission to use her. She had no idea she was even going to be part of the coyote's plan.

"So let's review the strategy one more time." The raccoon said, sitting down at the conference table and glancing at a yellow tablet full of scribbled notes. "Pharmaventure is launching a brand new brand of health foods targeted at herbivorous animals. The star product is going to be a mint kale bar for on the go healthy snaking. This will be marketed under the trade name of, Energreen. Pharmaventure has been working on new and exciting food additives that will make this the most energizing healthy snack on the market." He tapped his pen on the yellow tablet as he listed off every one of the major points.

"Exactly." Derrick replied, his white teeth flashing as he grinned.

"Okay, well we will plan TV, radio, internet, and newsprint advertisements. When will Gazelle and Miss Hopps be ready to shoot their first commercial? We need to get them for photoshoots immediately if we are going to meet this aggressive schedule. Are you sure you don't want to delay the launch a bit for us to prepare? Two weeks is incredibly short notice to launch a major multinational marketing campaign."

"No, as I have said before. We cannot wait. You're the second marketing agency I have talked with today. If you can't meet our schedule, I have three more lined up after you." Derrick said, his impatience apparent.

"We can meet it. There will just be a lot of overtime involved. That can be quite costly. Are you…"

"I don't care about the cost." The coyote interrupted. "I just need a simple yes or no. We are talking a ten million plus contract with your company. Can you do it."

The raccoon looked to his colleagues seated next to him before looking back to the well-dressed coyote. "We can do it." He said, extending his paw out.

Derrick smiled and shook heartily. "Excellent! My secretary will give you all the budgetary information. I'll have someone contact you with details on Gazelle and Hopps. Look for that call tomorrow." The coyote stood and shook hands with the raccoons fellow marketing staff. "I'll see you gentlemen later, I look forward to our two teams collaborating for a successful launch."

After a few more departing comments, Derrick returned to his office. He couldn't hold in his smile as he sat at his desk. Things were going perfectly. The new X1025 drug would be injected into every single energy bar they shipped. His company was already making them by the millions. All that was left was to create a demand. He was confident that the marketing agency along with Gazelle and Hopps would make this product fly off the shelves. The coyote already had Gazelle in his pocket. His company had purchased the rights to her music. As an entertainer she just needed a check big enough and she would be happy. Judy on the other paw would need a more medieval type of convincing. Luckily he had the right fox for the job. In the next three weeks he would see the nation's population of prey lose their edge and fall under foot of their predator brethren. X1025 would curtail their intelligence making them easier to control. The free samples in every animal's mailbox, the free samples being handed out on the street, the free samples mailed to every office and business would help ensure full saturation in the prey populace. Sure, he wouldn't get all of them to eat Energreen, but it would be enough so he could deal with the few outliers.

Derrick picked up his desk phone and dialed Razor's cellphone. It was time to put the next part of his plan into action.

/

Judy's eyes opened slowly as she awoke. She was cocooned in soft silken sheets on a large bed. Her eyes peered up at the white drapes surrounding her. The rabbit couldn't hold in the smile as she felt Nick's paw move slightly on her abdomen. She shifted ever so slightly, just enough so she could see the fox next to her. The gentle shift causing a bit of an ache in between her legs reminding her of the previous night's activities. Her right paw slipped under the covers to touch her sensitive vulva. She was tender, sore, and her thighs were matted with the fox's essence. Nick loved her. Nothing could take away that feeling of an animal's first love. She watched the fox as he slept next to her, his chest rising and falling.

Judy couldn't help herself and leaned in to give Nick a delicate lick across his nose. He didn't wake but lazily lifted a paw to scratch at an imaginary itch. She moved again, this time kissing the front of his muzzle and dragging her pink tongue along the side of his mouth. The red fox's eyes fluttered as he woke with a long groan, his muscles going taught in a full body stretch. Nick opened his eyes to find the lavender gaze of a cute bunny grinning back at him. His muzzle broke into a large smile and without warning he pounced on the rabbit, playfully biting at her neck, shoulders, and arms. Judy giggled and playfully fought off the attacking fox, her paws encircling his torso. Nick returned to her muzzle giving her a long kiss, morning breath be damned.

"Good morning Carrots." Nick whispered, grinning from ear to ear.

"Morning Red. Sleep well?" Judy asked, snuggling up next to him.

"I slept wonderfully. All thanks to you, little bunny." The fox said grinning and running his paws over her back.

Judy shivered as she felt his paws move through her fur and she gave him a quick peck on his nose. "Glad to hear it. I think I'm ready for a shower. What do you have for breakfast around here?" Judy said with a grin.

"You go and shower and I'll rustle us up some breakfast. I'm sure I can make something bunny friendly." He said with a wink.

Judy grinned, "I'll be the judge of that!" She tweaked his right nipple playfully before pushing down the sheets exposing both of their naked bodies. Judy blushed slightly as she saw nearly an inch of Nick's red foxhood extend beyond his sheath. "I see someone is excited this morning."

Nick just laughed, giving the rabbit a playful swat and pushing her out of the bed. "He likes what he sees. Now off to the shower!"

Judy jumped out of bed and took a few steps before bending at the waste with her legs partly spread to pick at an imaginary spot on the floor, giving Nick a long lusty look at her exposed vulva. "Woops, thought I saw something, guess I was wrong. See you in a few!" Judy said grinning before taking the fast few steps to the bathroom, shutting the door but leaving it cracked.

 _That Judy. He was going to have to keep an eye on her._ Nick thought to himself as he grinned, his erection now nearly completely out of this sheath. "Now is not the time buddy." He said to his exposed member. "First breakfast and then maybe a Judy snack later." The fox wandered to his closet, his member bouncing rather obscenely as he walked, before pulling on a soft white cotton robe.

Nick's shower really put hers to shame. A large rainfall showerhead created a steamy downpour that easily covered her entire body. Her choice of fur shampoos and conditioners were mostly limited to male scents, the bottles proudly portraying tough looking carnivores or overly muscular massive herbivores. She chose one at random and lathered herself up, scrubbing her body from head to toe. She was going to need bring that fox into the shower with her next time. Judy grinned at the thought of the naked fox standing behind her and washing her back. Her mind drifted to the events of the last night, her grin growing wider as she thought of their passionate love making. Judy's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a firm knock on the door.

Nick pushed the door opened and took a step inside. "Judy, we have to go. Now. Razor called. He wants to see us now. He also said that…" The fox broke off his voice cracking. "We just have to go."

Judy's heart dropped like a stone. What the hell did Razor want with them. She took one last moment to rinse the rest of the shampoo from her body and opened the shower door. A soft fluffy towel greeted her but she barely noticed as she dried herself off as quick as possible. Nick politely averted his eyes now that the mood had shifted. He had placed a folded pile of clothes on the floor, complete with sandals.

"These might be a bit baggy on you, but we don't really have the luxury to find you something better." Nick said, his voice sounding distant.

Judy pulled on a pair of what looked like the fox's boxers, followed by some gray sweat pants and finally another baggy t-shirt. Her fur was still damp, causing the clothing to adhere to her body as she glanced in the mirror trying to quickly tidy her fur. Nick pulled on her arm, urging her out the door.

"No time. We have to go." The fox urged, grabbing her arm and pulling her from the bathroom. He continued dragging her out the apartment and to the elevator.

"What did he say, Nick? What has got you so upset." Judy pushed the fox so he was facing her, the rabbit's ears cocked forward as she looked at him questioningly.

"He knows who we are. He knows we are undercover officers." Nick said in a frightened tone, backing into the elevator and hitting a button.

"Why would he want to see us? I would think he would be trying to cover his tracks." Judy said reasonably.

"You don't get it Carrots. They know everything. They know about this apartment. They know about your family. Razor instructed for us to drive to an address immediately or animals would be hurt. He warned against calling the station. He mentioned your parents by name, Judy. He knew who your parents were… in BunnyBurrow." Nick spoke fast, his heart racing as the elevator sped down to the parking garage in the basement.

"Jesus Lion." Judy swore. Her mouth ran dry as she started to panic. "What are we going to do Nick? We have no idea where we are going or what they want. How long have they known we are cops?"

"I don't know. We don't have a choice. Chief Bogo did say there were leaks in the force. We just can't trust anyone. I wish I had that gun." Nick said a bit wistfully, walking up to a smallish white SUV.

The fox clicked the unlock button in his paw and with a beep the vehicle unlocked. He jumped into the driver's side and waited for Judy to walk around and get in. He tore out of the parking garage at high speed, heading away from downtown. The location was in the desert biome, right on the outskirts of Zootopia. Nick reached over and gripped Judy's paw, interlacing fingers.

"We'll get through this. You know I wouldn't ever let anything happen to you. Just let me do the talking." He said, his eyes glancing over at the bunny.

Judy squeezed his paw and nodded, "I know you wouldn't. That's why I love you."

Nick felt a lump in his throat as she used the L-word. He returned the squeeze and focused on driving, weaving in and out of traffic. It wasn't long until they arrived at what looked to be an abandoned warehouse. The structure was made mostly out of extremely rusted corrugated steel. The fox parked the SUV next to two huge metal doors which stood slightly apart. The inside of the building was black and Judy shivered as she tried to make out any details of the building's interior. As they stepped out of the vehicle, the powerful desert sun hit them. The wind gusted and blew up sand, stinging their eyes and making a soft rattling sound against the metal building. Judy retook Nick's paw as he led them in between the large doors into the dark interior.

Their eyes adjusted slowly to the dim light but before either of them could see clearly a sharp voice greeted them. It wasn't Razor's.

"Welcome!", the voice said. "You two need to stop standing there and come here. I've got champagne."

That was the absolute last thing Judy would have expected to hear at that moment. Her first instinct was to turn around and check behind her, to make sure someone else wasn't being addressed. The rabbit's larger eyes adjusted first to the dim light and she was able to make out a figure sitting at a small table next to a large black SUV. He wore a white suit and an equally white smile. It was a coyote. The smile didn't fill Judy with reassurance as she approached. Standing beside him was Razor, his fur now dyed a sharp yellow color. He leaned his back against the SUV and didn't say anything, only followed the pair with his eyes as they approached.

The coyote pointed to the two empty chairs sitting across from the table, "Sit, we are here to celebrate." He said with an enthusiastic tone.

Judy and Nick shared a glance before taking their respective seats. In front of each was an empty champagne glass which the coyote promptly filled.

"I'm so glad we finally made it to this point!" The coyote continued.

The pair gave him a bewildered look, both of them looking quite confused.

"Ah, I guess I should start from the beginning. My name is Derrick Byrd and today, well yesterday, marked the first day of a new world. You see I am going to reset the natural order of things and return them to their rightful order." Derrick said his eyes moving back and forth between the pair. He then went on to explain his company and his plan to both of them.

Judy wore a stricken expression as she heard how this animal was planning on pushing predators back to the top by artificially lowering the intelligence of every prey animal. He was no animal but a monster.

"How could you?" Judy asked, her mind trying to rationalize this coyote's thinking.

"Easy. Predators are designed to be at the top. It's the natural order of the world. I'm going to rebalance it. You may think we are equals Miss Hopps but we are not. Prey animals are there to nourish the predators. It makes me sick to see predators serving prey. It is my responsibility to predator animals everywhere to fix this." The coyote said, his voice going cold.

Nick looked at his rabbit partner and then back to the coyote, "As a fellow predator this just sounds insane. You must know we form a close knit society with all animals. If ninety percent of the population suddenly lost part of their intelligence it could destroy everything, including our culture."

"Oh, that's what I'm hoping for. Our society is sick. Things should have never been allowed to progress this far. There will be problems initially, but over time things will return to normal. I will be seen as a redeemer and a visionary." Derrick replied confidently, his left paw reaching inside his jacket, withdrawing a large white envelope.

"Now", Derrick continued. "I don't have time for you to understand my thinking, and honestly I don't care. The pieces are already in motion. I'm sure you are wondering what you are doing here and why I would reveal my plan to two police officers. Judy is going to be the lead in an advertising campaign for our new product that will be laced with the drug. She is going to convince prey everywhere to try it. The populace trusts her and sees her as a leader."

"There is no fucking way I'm doing that." Judy replied with an angry tone.

Nick glanced at the bunny, it was the first time he had ever heard her swear.

"Oh, I think I can change your way of thinking little bunny." He opened up the envelope and withdrew a few of the sheets inside, laying them on the table. They were large black and white photos of Judy trying the Goodnight Kiss. Her muzzle was white with the drug. Someone had digitally altered the photo so her fur was a natural gray color. "We have leverage."

"Ha, if you think for a moment that I would give a shit about who saw these pictures you are quite mistaken. I would never doom my kind over something like this." Judy said with a laugh, her steely voice furious.

"Oh you misunderstand me. We have so much more." Derrick said tossing the next couple of photos on the table. They were from the club and showed Nick and Judy in the middle of their forced intimate situation. Several of them were quite graphic, clearly showing Nick's foxhood penetrating Judy as he pushed her to the floor. The photograph highlighted the betrayal, fear, and pain she had felt as the poor bunny looked back to the Fox from the cement with a pleading expression.

The fox sitting next to her took a long sharp inhalation of breath. The evidence was right in front of him, what he had done to Judy. She didn't tell him the extent of what he had done. The rape looked brutal and animalistic. His shame returned with vigor as he couldn't meet Judy's eyes.

Judy ignored her partner for the moment and looked at the coyote, her voice a bit less steady. "Nick and I have come to terms with this. He wasn't himself."

The coyote laughed, "You two may have, but will your mother and father be so understanding when we hand deliver there pictures to them? They would never be able to look at you the same." Derrick grinned evilly at her, "Seeing your own daughter speared on the end of a large red fox cock will do that to any animal."

Judy's conjured up thoughts of her parents shocked and dismayed expressions as they opened the envelopes and saw her with Nick. They might think she went to Zootopia and was corrected by a certain fox. She growled up at the coyote, "My parents will come to forgive me in time, especially if they know I was under duress when those were taken." 

The coyote laughed, "Oh these situations I'm highlighting are just for motivation. The real reason you are going to help me is that there are two of you sitting at this table and I only need one."

A large paw descended upon Nick's left shoulder from behind. As Nick looked around he realized it was attached to one of the largest tiger's he had ever seen.

"Say hello to Dmitri, he is going to be your shadow for the next two weeks. Nick will be staying with us while you diligently do all of your spokesman duties." The coyote grinned as he finished revealing his plan, "Initially I assumed your relationship with this fox was purely platonic, a partner and friend. When I realized that there might be something more…" Derrick trailed off pulling out the last of the pictures from the envelope and spreading them across the table. Black and white pictures of the fox and rabbit holding paws, entering each other's apartments at night and leaving in the morning betrayed the fact that Nick and Judy were more than just partners. "Well, just my luck right? Now, Judy. I want you to punch Nick in the face as hard as you can."

The rabbit just looked at the coyote blankly, _he wanted her to do what?!_ "I'm not going to do that." She said fearlessly.

"Wrong answer." Derrick said as he nodded to the massive tiger.

Dmitri pulled a pair of large kitchen scissors from his back right pocket and proceeded to slice off the top quarter inch of Nick's left ear. The fox screamed and clutched at his head, holding his sensitive ear in his paws.

"You God damn bastard." Nick screamed, his eyes filled with pain. "Fucking psychopathic monster."

The coyote just shrugged evenly and looked back to Judy. "All right let's try this again. Please, punch Nick in the face."

The fox pulled his paws away from his ear to reveal the blood soaked fur around the tip. He leaned toward Judy, his eyes closed. "Just do it."

The rabbit hesitated for a few more seconds before leaning back and swinging as hard as she could into the fox's face. Nick only let out a muffled yelp as her smallish paw connected with his right eye socket, his paws returning to hold is tender face.

"You two sure are fast learners. You see, you both are my puppets. I can do anything I like with you. Anything." He looked meaningfully to Judy. "Take off your shirt."

Judy moved quicker, her face a mask of revulsion and shame, as she reached and lifted her borrowed shirt off of her body. Her two smallish breasts were revealed to the gaze of the coyote, who started to laugh as he looked at her.

"Nick! Really? She practically looks like a boy. You could do so much better for a fox. A nice vixen or something." The coyote leaned across the table and flicked her right nipple, causing the rabbit to gasp in pain.

The fox next to her didn't say anything but slid his leg next to hers in silent comfort, his paw still holding his ear.

"Now, if you want Nick to be alive for the next two weeks you will do exactly as I say, when I say it. You will show up to all appointments on time, ready to please, and with a smile on your muzzle. If you show any hint of being rebellious behavior, I'll release the photos to your parents and coworkers. If you so much as whisper a word of my plan to anyone, Nick's life is forfeit and I deny everything. The bureaucracy of the government is so slow that even if you did tell someone it would take them weeks to get organized." The coyote grinned, he had every angle controlled. Judy was his and he knew it. "Dmitri, get the collar."

The massive tiger's face split into a grin as he pulled out a metal collar from another pocket and placed it on the table in front of the fox.

"Judy put this on Nick." The coyote said, his voice filled with a confident joy.

The rabbit growled and hastily picked up the split metal ring and moved to place it on Nick. She was nearly stopped cold by the fox's terrified expression. Her eyes focused on his gaze as she tried to convey hope and love through the gaze before reaching around to click the collar into place.

"This collar is a special invention of mine, besides being quite stylish. If you displease me or him, he can activate a special function." Derrick said almost giddily and nodded to Dmitri.

The big tiger pulled out his phone and after unlocking it and opening an app, he clicked a button. Instantly, pain radiated through Nick's body causing his muscles to convulse. His face fell forward smacking the table hard as he shook. After a couple of seconds, the tiger clicked the button again and the pain stopped.

"The collar is hooked up to cell networks so no matter where you are, Dmitri has the power to hurt Nick. That was only on fifty percent powers. Other subjects who wore the collar couldn't maintain bladder or bowl control after seventy-five percent. We don't want to have to use this, but we will. As long as you stay a nice cute rabbit for us, there will be no reason to hurt anyone." Derrick said, gesturing to the fox.

Judy's mind whirled. Her entire world seemed to be collapsing. She was being coerced into practically dooming the entire prey population. _Fuck._ She thought to herself.

"All right, you best get home and get ready for tomorrow. It's going to be a long day, starting with removing that terrible brown dye job. I need you to be recognizable."

Nick realized that this might be his last moment he had to talk with Judy. In a quick and rash decision, he leaned over and tackled Judy to the ground. With his arms tight around her, he hastily whispered into her sensitive ears, "Go to 1594 Oak St. and ask for Wildthing. I lov…" That was all he was able to get out before Dmitri yanked him away from the bunny. His collar activated once more, and again he was blinded by white hot pain radiating from his throat. He pawed helplessly at the device, as the shocks seemed to travel down his spine. After what seemed like minutes the pain stopped and he was able to open his eyes. He was once again sitting at the table with his head down. After collecting himself for a few moments he looked up and saw that Judy was already gone.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Judy slammed the door of Nick's SUV, followed by Dmitri shutting his own door as he climbed into the back seat. She had Nick's keys in her paw which she had taken from the unconscious fox. Her mind was a tumultuous mix of emotions as she turned the key in the ignition. The car roared to life and she put the car into gear. She felt like screaming, sobbing, and punching something all at the same time. Judy was damned if she was going to cry in front of the Tiger sitting in the back seat. Derrick had instructed her to go home and rest up for the next morning. She really didn't feel like heading home at all. Nick's keys jingled in the ignition as she turned away from the steel building and onto the main road, giving her an idea. She would go to Nick's place instead.

"Where are you headed? This isn't the way to your apartment." The tiger commented nonchalantly, he obviously felt like he had the situation completely under control.

"No." Judy replied flatly. "I'm headed to Nick's instead. I've got a change of clothes there." She said, lying through her teeth. "Anyway, this is his car and I don't really have a place to park it at my apartment."

Dmitri just laughed, the bunny in front of him reeked of fear. Who could blame her? She was a filthy prey animal. "Whatever you want. Just make sure you're downstairs by seven AM tomorrow morning. You wouldn't like it I was kept waiting. Your boyfriend would especially not like it." He said holding up his phone to emphasis the point.

Even though Dmitri had used the word 'boyfriend' facetiously, the idea caught in Judy's mind. She hadn't considered that before. She had a boyfriend. The thought made her spirits rise just to be dashed after realizing she may never see him again. "I'll be there. It's only ten in the morning, do you expect me stay inside till tomorrow?"

"No, you're free to come and go as you please. We know you value that fox's life too much. If Nick is to die it won't be a pleasant death. I can't imagine what it would feel like to be skinned alive and I'm sure Nick doesn't want to find out. Just make sure you are never late to our meetings. Keep that dumb smile on your face, and don't ask questions. Also if we even think you're going to the police, or hell, even the federals, your life and his are forfeit." Dmitri said, his voice hard, nearly a growl.

"I got it." Judy said. "Where do you want me to drop you off."

"Just in front of Nick's building." Replied the tiger.

After a few more minutes of driving they arrived at her partner's apartment complex. Judy pulled off to the side of the road, letting the tiger out. Dmitri left the car with one more reminder about not being late in the morning and was gone. She drove the car into the apartment building, finding Nick's parking spot, and turned off the car. Already, she could feel the sobs coming. She felt so alone. So afraid. Her best friend, partner, and lover was in the hands of a psychopath. Her vivid imagination played through a dozen scenes of what they might be doing to Nick, each one more terrifying then the last.

Judy staggered to the elevator, pushing the button for Nick's floor. She gritted her teeth against her losing battle with the tears. The elevator doors opened and the rabbit hurried to the fox's home. She peered at Nick's door through tear filled eyes as she managed to get the key into the lock and fling it open. Judy burst through the door just as her real tears started to fall. She slammed the door behind her and fell to her knees, the sobs truly taking her now. Her paws gripped fistfuls of the carpet as she pressed her face to the ground, crying. Judy gasped, "Nick. Please be safe." She wanted him here beside her. To comfort her. She never realized how much his presence meant to her. The rabbit wept loudly, terror and sadness overtaking her as she thought of the red fox that made her heart skip a beat. _I might never see him again…_ Judy thought to herself, as a new wave of sobs overtook her.

Their love was so new, so fresh. To feel something so transcendent for such a short period of time, just to have it yanked away; it felt like the gods were laughing at her. She had found love for the first time in her life. Images of Nick danced through her mind bringing fresh tears to her eyes. How were they going to get through this? The rabbit's thoughts were black as a sinner's soul as she curled into a ball, pulling her knees to her chest. Judy felt so small and insignificant, her heart throbbed for her lover. She squeezed her eyes closed in an attempt to shut out the fear that something terrible was going to happen.

In time her breathing began to become more relaxed and Judy fell into a light sleep. Shadows of the day's events drifted through her dreams, formless and shapeshifting, like dark clouds on a winter day. An hour past. And then two. Judy woke to the rumbling of her tummy. She sat up, her mind feeling shockingly clear, her sadness and fear replaced with anger and fury. Gone were her past perturbations. Nick had given her a job, a duty. Her red fox was counting on her. She was going to go find this WildThing, who ever they are, and see if they can help.

/\/\/\/\

Nick awoke to the aromatic and inviting smell of freshly ground and roasted coffee beans. The soft sounds of percolation accompanied the pleasant aroma like the babbling of a small broke. His neck hurt. The last few hours were a blur. He was dragged from the desert into the SUV. Razor promptly shoved a black bag over his head and pulled his paws behind his back, snapping on steel handcuffs. Not being one for enclosed spaces, Nick's claustrophobia spiked and he had begun to hyperventilate from fear. The neon blue fox called him a whiny bitch and sprayed some strong smelling, foreign miasma onto the front of the bag. His head started to spin at the strong scent, before he dropped into a forced fitful sleep. That's how he found himself with his head pillowed on a stone floor. Nick's eyes blinked open and to his dismay his face was still covered. His neck, chest, and especially his shoulders burned from his paws being held behind his back for hours. The coffee smell was so alluring he smacked his lips and a soft whimper escaped his muzzle.

"Well, I see the flatfoot has awoken. Good morning Sunshine." Nick immediately recognized Razor's voice, followed by the unmistakable sound of shoeless paws walking toward him. "Are you going to be a good boy when I take off the hood?"

Nick felt extremely ready to get free from the cloth prison. "Yes." He said flatly, holding his head up. He felt paws fumble with a knotted cord at his neck. In a sudden flash, the bag was pulled off and a well-lit room met his eyes. He was in a cozy kitchen; pots and pans hung from the ceiling, dish cloths hung off the oven door handle, and small red curtains hung to the side of the windows where bright sunshine streamed in through the window. _How long have I been asleep?_ Nick thought to himself as he looked up at the neon fox standing above him.

"Hungry?" The fox said looking down at him.

Nick, having never been a prisoner before, was somewhat shocked at the friendly tone Razor was using. He felt confused and upset. He wanted to see his rabbit, not eat breakfast. Though, he couldn't deny his basal instinct, he was hungry. A hunger strike wasn't going to save Judy any faster or help get these chains off his paws.

"Yes." He said again, mimicking the flat tone from before.

"All right, up you go big boy." Razor said as he moved behind Nick to lift him from his armpits, standing him on his feet. "Boy you do look like you've had a rough time of it. Well, don't you worry. I've been instructed by Mr. Byrd that you are to receive excellent attention, by yours truly. He seems to think that you have somehow been coerced into this situation with that bunny. We think that with time and a little persuading you will see how having a rabbit girlfriend was a really dumb idea." The neon fox said, pulling out an oak chair in front of a small kitchen table.

"Fat chance of that." Nick said with a sneer. "How about these cuffs then. Surely I'm not to wear these damn things for weeks am I?"

"Oh by heaven's no!" Razor said with a laugh. "Here, turn around and I'll take those off."

Nick turned around and lifted out his cuffed paws. He heard a jingling of keys and the soft click of the cuffs as they were unlocked. With a sigh of relief, he moved his paws in front of him and stretched. His joints popped as he rotated his arms and shoulders, as he gave a brief sigh of relief, before immediately making a sprint to the door. Razor's head spun as a flash of red fur headed for the exit. Within less than ten paces, the red fox was brought to his knees as he screamed in agony.

 _Aghhhhhhhhh!_ Nick thought to himself as he clutched once again at his neck. He had forgot about the blasted, God damn collar.

The neon fox joined Nick, wearing a sad smile on his face. He made a brief nod to a wall mounted micro-camera and the pain from Nick's collar ceased. "You don't give us much credit if you think it's going to be that easy." Razor said, his voice seeming a bit disappointed. "We are at a guest house on Mr. Byrd's estate. I assure you it is extremely well guarded; cameras, motion tracking, thermal imaging, acoustic analysis, there are even antonymous drones that circle overhead looking for anomalies. Escape is futile. Now let's be civil and go have some breakfast while it's still hot."

Nick lay gasping on the ground, holding his neck, while squeezing his eyes shut. The shocks of pain seemed to fade away slowly, regardless of the fact that the device at his neck had been shut off. After taking a few long breaths the red fox regained his feet and looked to Razor. "What's going to happen to Judy?" Nick asked his voice barely above a growl.

"Judy is in fine paws. As long as she behaves herself, neither you or her will be harmed." Razor responded with a shrug.

"I meant what happens if your plan succeeds? What happens to her then? Are you going to leave her mind… intact?" Nick replied, his voice sounding agitated.

"I guess I haven't thought about that." The neon fox replied giving a noncommittal expression. "I suppose that would be up to Derrick."

"I'm going to kill you and that God damn coyote." The red fox said flatly.

"Tut Tut." Razor said with a grin, "Manners! It isn't polite to threaten someone with death before breakfast. Now, I'm hungry. You can whine some more, but do it quietly."

Razor turned around and started serving himself a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast with a side of fresh coffee, before sitting down at the table. "Help yourself, if you're interested." He said, taking a greedy bite of bacon followed by a sip of coffee.

Nick followed the neon blue fox's example and served himself some breakfast. He joined Razor at the table, noticing how the collar around his neck bounced against his collarbone as he walked. The pair ate in silence with Nick mostly ignoring his dining companion. He had to think of a way to escape. If he only could get out of here, he could find Judy and whisk her to safety, then contact the authorities.

"Well, how do you expect me to sit here while our lives hang over our heads?" Nick finally said, his voice agitated.

Razor gave him a very strange look, his right eyebrow cocked questioningly. "Why not go out into the backyard? There is a lovely pool out there. You could go for a swim. As long as you don't do anything stupid, you can really do whatever you like. Of course you will be cut off from all communication, but there is a nice gym, tennis courts, Jacuzzi, you name it. Mr. Byrd is an extremely wealthy coyote."

Nick felt like punching the shit out of Razor as the blue fox grinned at him across his half eaten breakfast. "Judy's people are under the threat of being made retarded and you want me to act like I'm on vacation?!" He practically shouted at Razor.

"You can spend your time here brooding, or acting depressed or whatever. It doesn't change the facts. You're our prisoner. Now before you do anything rash, go outside. In fact, that's an order. You don't want your bad behavior to spill over onto Judy do you? I could just have Dmitri hurt your rabbit where the cameras won't see the bruises." Razor said nonchalantly.

Nick balled his paws into fists as his rage built into a fury. The red fox simply stood up from the kitchen table and walked toward a sliding glass door laced with vertical blinds. Her parted the blinds and pushed the glass door open and stepped outside. What greeted his eyes was a vision of pure perfection. The lawn, the trees, the pool was immaculate. Not a blade of grass or leaf on a tree was out of place. To Nick it seemed terribly artificial. The entire place reeked of money. The pool was only a few steps away from the sliding glass door. It was a gorgeous affair, round rocks ringed the edge of a black bottom pool. A small winding brook, wound around the cement boarder of the pool before dumping into the deep end. Ringing the pool were half a dozen expensive looking hardwood loungers, picnic tables, and large shade umbrellas.

The red fox took a seat on one of the loungers looking away from the house behind him. He sat under a large red umbrella and gazed out into the distance. Derrick manor sat on a large hill that looked down on a massive wood that surrounded a small village. At the edge of the grounds, right before the edge of the forest, a massive wrought iron fence separated him from freedom. Cameras. There were cameras everywhere. They were attached to the walls, the sides of buildings, there were even massive metal poles where large camera arrays dangled like strange fruit. His black mood deepened. He missed his bunny. He wondered what she might be doing now. Or worse, what Dmitri might be doing to her. He shunned the thought and tried to focus on something else. He was sure she was fine. They needed her. That was the only reason they were in this mess.

"Drink Sir?"

Nick nearly had a heart attack. His body gave quite a jump as he gripped the armrests for dear life. He swung his head to look behind him. A smartly dressed serval (small African cat) lady stood behind him. She was small, roughly half his size and wore a tidy looking servants uniform. She had tan fur with black stripes that stretched across her body and face.

"You just scared the crap out of me!" The red fox gasped as he slowly let go of the armrests. "Do you have a habit of sneaking up on people?"

"I'm so sorry!" The serval looked mortified as she saw how high the fox jumped. "I called out earlier but you didn't seem to hear me." The serval wrung her hands nervously as she looked at Nick. "Mr. Razor has instructed me to tend to your every wish and ensure your stay here is as perfect as possible."

Nick couldn't place her accent but she was definitely not from Zootopia. Definitely someplace hot and dry, he decided. He offered her a grumble and a shrug. "Does this place have anything to drink?"

"Of course, Sir. I can bring you anything you would desire."

"No need for the Sir. Call me Nick." The fox said, offering the smallest, briefest of smiles to the serval. He thought for a moment and then in a moment of petulance he thought of the most expensive drink he could think of. "Bring me a bottle of Louis XIII cognac." If he was going to be stuck here he might as well derive that bastard coyote from his perfectly good booze.

"Of course, Mr. Nick. Mr. Byrd keeps his cellar fully stocked. Is there anything else I can get you?"

"What's your name?" The fox asked his curiosity perked.

"Kamari." The lady serval said with a warm smile.

"Well then Kamari, bring on the cognac!" Nick said partly returning her smile. It was hard to maintain his bitter attitude when he had the warm smile of a pretty serval staring down at him.

The small cat bowed before spinning around and quickly heading into the house. Well perhaps his incarceration wouldn't be so bad, he thought to himself. Now he just had to figure out how to get out. At this moment, the red fox was stumped. His usual quick and agile mind seemed to be mired in a bog of unhappy thoughts. In short order Kamari returned carrying a round tray, topped with a beautifully ornate bottle and a handsome crystal balloon glass. She made sure to get Nick's attention before approaching.

"Your drink, Sir. I mean Nick. Your drink Nick." Kamari said, stumbling a bit over Nick's lack of formality.

The fox's usually relaxed expression, which had been transformed into a mask of worry and fear as of late, morphed into one of surprise. He hadn't expected her to be so fast. "Thank you, Kamari!" The red fox said eagerly as she placed the glass and bottle on the small table next to the fox.

The small cat blushed under her fur. No other guest had been so kind to her. Usually, she just disappeared into the background. "You're quite welcome, Nick. Shall I pour for you?"

"Yes, please!" Nick said, holding out his glass.

Kamari took hold of the ornate bottle and broke the seal before pouring in about two fingers worth of the golden liquid. The red fox looked up at her and extended his paw holding the glass. "Why don't you give it a try first?"

The cat's eyebrows shot up in surprise as she nervously shook her head. "I couldn't! Mr. Byrd would be furious enough if he knew we spoke at all. The help is to not to be seen or heard, as he puts it. "

"Well what he doesn't know won't hurt him. Also, fuck that guy." Nick said, his voice filled with loathing.

"I thought you were his guest?!" Kamari said, her expression confused. All the same, she reached trembling fingers to the glass. Her eyes took a furtive glance to the house as she took a small tentative sip. Her expression grew to one of wonder as the golden liquid hit her lips. The warm flavors of lychee, Cuban cigars, cinnamon and ginger lingered on her tongue as she took a small swallow. She couldn't hide her smile as she handed the glass back. It was one of the nicest things she had ever tasted.

"Good eh?" Nick said, laughing. "And no. I'm no guest of that asshole. I'm his prisoner. I'm here against my will. I would only be too happy to see him fall down a flight of stairs, then get stepped on by an elephant, and get lit on fire."

The African cat had never heard anyone use such language about Mr. Byrd. She lowered her voice to just a tiny whisper. "I hate him too. He treats me like furniture. He forces me to stand naked at his fancy parties just so his guests can have something pretty to look at."

"Ahem!" Both the fox and the cat looked up to see Razor stepping into the backyard from the sliding glass door. The neon blue fox held up an empty glass and shook it admonishingly at Kamari.

The cat jumped, grabbing her tray and steering straight for Razor. She bowed and took the glass. "A refill sir?"

"Yes, and don't skimp on the garnish." Razor said, hardly looking at Kamari. He walked over to Nick and took the lounger next to him. The red fox's ears wilted in displeasure as his new companion took up residence in the seat next to him.

"Quite a nice place, isn't it?" Razor said, gesturing to the beautiful landscape around them. "I see you like to enjoy the finer things in life." He continued, pointing at the fancy cognac in Nick's paw.

Nick grimaced and looked away, "Just a fancy cage. It will look nicer when I'm pulling this place down piece by piece." He looked to his cognac and shrugged, "I didn't think jailors were supposed to fraternize with the inmates. Don't you have better things to do." Nick knew he shouldn't antagonize the blue fox, but he was having trouble keeping his anger and hate under control. He took another long sip of the liquor and focused on the slight ripples in the pool.

Razor paused for a long moment, his eyes looking condescendingly at the red fox next to him. "I would watch that temper of yours. If you think for a second I won't harm that bunny of yours, you are severally mistaken.

Nick didn't reply and just kept his gaze on the pool. He could tell his lack of reaction angered Razor, but he just didn't care. Kamari finally reappeared with the blue fox' drink who just made a face at it and, acting like a complete asshole, took the offered glass and just dropped it on the ground. The cup shattered into a million pieces with liquid pouring across the concrete.

"I've suddenly lost my thirst. You have had a long day tomorrow. I expect you to be on your best behavior. The consequences will be much more severe if I have to deal with your insolence." Razor flipped his tail and strolled off, passing Kamari who had a shocked look on her face.

"Bastard." Nick said under his breath as soon as Razor was out of earshot.

"I've got it." Kamari said, running forward and using her serving tray and a towel to pick up the shards of glass.

The fox bent down to help her clean up the mess. "What a child." He said, with a fake laugh. He felt a slight trepidation. Children could be easily angered and were unpredictable. He had better not provoke Razor. Judy's life was on the line. Nick let out a long sigh and sat down on the concrete, putting his face in his paws.

Kamari felt a sadness for the fox as she knelt next to him, holding a towel with broken glass shards. "How about I show you to your room?"

Nick nodded, the cognac now completely forgotten. "All right, I'm ready for this day to end." He said, meekly smiling at the cat.

The red fox followed Kamari to an impressive bedroom. It was large and well furnished, not unlike his own bedroom. The desert cat showed Nick how the closet had been pre filled with clothes of his size. She also demonstrated how a button next to his bed would call someone at any time. "It's hooked up to my bracelet." She said, holding out her paw. A small silver bracelet was clasped tightly to her wrist. It looked to be a rather odd design, it was more a tech toy then jewelry. She demonstrated how, pushing the button would cause her bracelet to flash and beep. "You just hit the button and I'll come."

Nick's jaw practically dropped. "This isn't right Kamari. How did you end up here? This seems so medieval. When do you sleep? Or leave the property?"

"Well, of course I don't leave the property. I live here. I think Derrick bought me from my mom when I was little and I've been here ever since." Kamari replied like she was explaining something so simple, it shouldn't need explaining.

"What he is doing is illegal. It's against our laws. Slavery isn't allowed. He can't just keep you here. You are free to come and go as you please." Nick explained, feeling a bit exasperated.

The fox and the cat argued about her treatment. Kamari didn't seem to think she had it too bad. Her treatment was rough but it she felt it could be so much worse. "Mr. Derrick said her rescued me from my village. If I wasn't here I would be dead."

An expression of rage flashed across his face as he listened to her story. Nick knew if Judy was here, she would be trying to get her teeth into the coyote at this point. They talked for a few more minutes about her situation before he yawned and looked over to the bed. "We can talk more tomorrow. I'm beat, it's been a long day."

"Of course." Said Kamari, "Please let me know if there is anything else. Nothing is too small."

"Goodnight!" The red fox said with a smile.

The desert cat bowed deeply and walked form the room, closing the door gently. Nick hopped on his bed, his mind swirling with thoughts. He wondered what Judy was doing at that exact moment.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's note: Sorry about the delay, I was out on vacation last weekend and that's usually when I get most of my writing done. Plus, I ended up rewriting this chapter a couple of times. Thanks for all the wonderful comments, follows, and favorites. I'm having a blast writing this story.

Chapter 10

Judy's heart pounded in her chest, her breaths coming in gasps. She wore one of Nick's large black sweaters with the hood pulled up over her head to hide her face. Both of her paws clutched the cold metal handle to the back exit of Nick's apartment building. She pushed the door open an inch and listened, both ears straining to pick up any noise from under the hood. The rabbit's nose twitched as she sifted through the complex smells emanating through the crack in the door. She smelled nothing out of the ordinary, just the usual smells of garbage, diesel exhaust, and the smell of stale cigarettes. Mustering her courage, Judy pushed the door open and slipped through. A dark, wet night greeted her as she walked out. The rabbit turned and started walking with what she hoped, was a non-incriminating pace. Judy was unsure if she was going to be followed but she didn't want to take chances.

The rabbit did keep her pace brisk as she ducked into a nearby department store. The scents of women's perfume and men's cologne assaulted her senses as she pushed through the store, quickly finding another exit. She had planned her path well and a subway entrance was only half a dozen paces away. She sprinted down the stairs and used one of the few subway passes she had stolen from Nick's place to move through the turn-styles. The subway smelled of stale air, axel grease, and a faint hint of urine. Judy squinched up her nose in distaste at the familiar scent as she moved quickly to the large subway map on the wall. The rabbit was quite familiar with the map, having used the subway multiple times a week for the last year. She quickly found the 'L' line and took the short couple of steps to a platform where, as luck would have it, a train was already waiting. Judy slipped through the doors of the second car just as the train started to leave the station.

After half a dozen stops the train dropped her off at a station just a few blocks away from Oak St. Judy was surrounded by animals of all sizes, pushing past her as they hurried about their day. The rabbit took a deep breath, and with a final furtive glance behind her, she walked up the stairs into the night. The street she emerged onto was filled with four to five story buildings. The kind with store fronted windows on the bottom floors and apartments built above. Mostly, she saw small boutique shops that catered to a lower clientele. The rabbit glanced up at a nearby street sign and oriented herself before setting off toward her destination. She passed fast check cashing locations, stores that boasted quick money now, cheap jewelry, and a multitude of small fast food franchises. As she approached her destination her pulse and respirations began to rise. By the time she reached Oak St. her pace had picked up and her paws were clenched into tight fists.

Judy watched the street numbers climb as she walked by each building before 1594 Oak St. came into view. The address was unimpressive. A small building was wedged between a sad looking flower shop and a twenty-four-hour pharmacy. A gray steel front door with a large warning sticker, 'HIGH VOLTAGE: AUTHORIZED PERSONEL ONLY' greeted visitors. No windows adorned the outer facade of the building and the rabbit wondered if she had misheard Nick when he gave her the address. The building in front of her looked like a power substation, not a… Well Judy wasn't sure what she was expecting to find. The only give away was a lonely security camera that was fixed to the building, it's lens centered at the gray door. She didn't pause long on her inspection of the building but walked up to the door. She wondered if she should knock or just try the handle. She decided on the later and surprisingly the door swung inward to a well-lit interior. Without a look backwards she stepped in and let the door shut behind her.

The bunny was met with a well-lit room which was characterized by more gray walls which, surprisingly, were decorated with hanging pictures. The pictures seemed to be all of foxes. No two were alike, each seeming to originate from a different time period and a different artist. After pausing in front of the door Judy quickly realized that she wasn't alone in the room. On the far wall, sitting at an old wooden desk was an elderly looking female fox. The fox was wearing a knit shall, horn-rimmed glasses, and looked very much like a stereotypical librarian. The fox was staring directly at Judy with a look of surprise on her muzzle. The rabbit took a deep breath and hurried the few steps to stand in front of the desk; pulling back the hood to her sweater, allowing her tall ears to return to their erect position.

"Hello." Judy said a bit awkwardly, as she was unsure how to start.

"Good evening, my dear." The fox said with a kind looking smile. "How may I help you. Are you lost?"

The rabbit shook her head and tried to return the smile, "I'm here to see Wildthing."

The look of shock the fox gave her as she made her request was a bit unnerving.

"Do you have an appointment?" The librarian-looking fox said with one eyebrow slightly raised.

"Well… no." Judy said simply, holding up her paws in a placating fashion.

"I'm afraid he isn't seeing strange rabbits who come tumbling through our door. Why don't you try coming back once you have made an appointment?" The fox said, her friendly demeanor dropping slightly.

"I must see him tonight, right now!" Judy pleaded. "It's a matter of life or death. Please!"

The friendly smile the fox originally gave the rabbit was now only the ghost of a memory as her face morphed into a wicked snarl. "That's not my problem. Wildthing is indisposed at the moment and isn't seeing any visitors. Now if you would turn around and go back to where you came from, we won't have a problem."

A loud buzz announced the opening of a door to the right of the large desk she was standing next to. Two extremely large foxes emerged from the door and walked toward Judy, each wearing a menacing, determined expression.

"Please, I have to see Wildthing. Please." Judy tried again, but to deaf ears. The fox behind the desk had gone back to reading a magazine. Two pairs of paws took hold of her arms and dragged her back towards the exit. She started to panic, this was her only option. "Nick Wilde sent me. He is in trouble. He told me to find Wildthing!" She shouted back to the librarian-looking fox.

"Wait." Was the fox's only reply. Instantly, the two toughs at her sides halted their forward progress and turned Judy around so she was once again facing the desk.

"You said Nick Wilde sent you. How exactly do you know Mr. Wilde?" She said looking over her horn-rimmed glasses at her.

"He's well he's my partner…" Judy said trailing off.

"Your partner? In a business franchise?"

"Well no, we're both police officers." The rabbit said truthfully.

"You came here and admitted to being a cop?!" The fox said incredulously, dropping her magazine back on the desk, standing up.

"I don't even know what 'here' is." Judy said, her ears falling.

The fox reached down and picked up a phone on her desk and dialed. Her eyes never left Judy as she whispered into the handset and nodded to herself. "Boys, take miss police officer back to see the boss. Let's see if he can decrypt this bunny's lies."

The two goons didn't reply, but pulled her toward the door from which they had come and, after another audible buzz, yanked her through it. Judy found herself at the top of a long twisting staircase. On the wall directly in front of her, some animal had spray painted the words, 'The Fox Den' in red. She shuddered slightly as she felt the paws on her arms practically carry her to the first set of steps leading down.

"I can walk on my own. Let me go!" She said, her voice filled with fear and anger. To her surprise, the pair let her arms go and she was free to walk down with the two toughs following closely behind her.

Judy walked down four floors of cement steps before finally rounding the last corner to find another long hallway. This one was surprisingly wood paneled and was softly lit with antique gas wall lamps. The rabbit tentatively stepped onto the hardwood floor of the new passage, with the two fox's still in tow. At the end of the hall was a wooden door with a frosted piece of glass set in the upper part of the frame. Large black letters spelled out the words, 'The Fox Den' on the glass. Judy's mustered her courage and walked toward the door, her shoulders thrown back in a confident posture. She had come to save Nick. That thought gave her the strength to reach her paw out to the door.

The two toughs on either side of her, replaced their paws on her shoulders and assisted her through the door. Judy found herself standing in a replica of a turn of the century English pub. A brick wall sat directly across from the door they had entered. Dozens of paintings hung there showing old hunting scenes with small fox's being chased by hunters on horseback. In the center of the brick wall, mirrors had been hung behind a gorgeous mahogany bar. Dozens of liquor bottles were set against the mirror, each proudly displaying its contents with a brightly colored label. Judy's nose twitched at the warm smells of wood, beer, and cooking food. To the left and right of the bunny were high-back mahogany booths, hiding the sitting patrons. The place felt almost unworldly, almost as if she had stepped into an alternate dimension.

The goons held Judy's arms as they waited near the door. She felt almost in shock as she waited. After nearly five minutes, a couple of auburn foxes stood up from a table to her left and she was ushered forward. As the rabbit passed the pair, they both gave her a scornful, disgusted look, as if she were beneath them. Judy tried to remain calm, but her heart began to race as she was lead to the booth. With an overly hard shove, the goons pushed Judy into the booth. She barely had an opportunity to use her paws to steady herself before she noticed she was sitting across from someone. Someone who looked surprisingly like an older Nick.

Confident half-lidded eyes peered back at her. The fox in front of her wore a dark suit that seemed to match the mischievous grin he wore. He tilted his head curiously and slightly raised his right eyebrow.

"And who might you be? It isn't often we get one of your kind in the Fox Den." The fox said, picking up the half-full glass of beer to his right and taking a small sip.

Judy didn't quaver, she looked directly at the fox in front of her. "My name is Judy. I'm a police officer and partners with Nick Wilde. He was taken hostage this morning and he sent me here to find help. He told me to find someone named Wildthing."

The fox didn't react as much as she would have expected. His eyebrows may have risen just the slightest in surprise, but he quickly mastered his expression. "Is that so? It's been quite some time since I've seen that fox. He ran off and joined the police force? He always was a bit of an odd one. That fox always played by his own rules." The fox said with a slight smile, before snapping his fingers and summoning the bartender. "John, could you please bring the lady here a whiskey sour, something to calm her nerves."

The bartender bowed and returned to the bar and started preparing the drinks.

"Well, I am Wildthing if you were wondering." The fox said, continuing. "If you haven't guessed, he is actually my son. Folks around here call me Wildthing as sort of a nick name, but you can call me Paul. Paul Wilde at your service." He said holding out his paw.

The rabbit almost laughed at his gesture, "The lady at the entrance isn't quite as hospitable as you." She shook his paw and looked at Paul in a new light. Here was Nick's father, sitting in front of her. Strange he had never mentioned him and only his mother.

"She is quite harmless I assure you. We get quite a few shady characters crawling around this building so having a lady who is as tough as nails really makes things safer for all of us. She makes the best crumb cake, goes great with espresso." Paul said, smiling before taking another sip of his beer.

In almost no time at all, Judy's drink arrived and she launched straight into her story. Her words flowed more smoothly as the level of the drink dropped. She was shocked to see that after fifteen minutes of nonstop talking, that her drink had been emptied and another fresh one was dropped in its place. The fox didn't interrupt her but only nodded and offered the occasional exclamation of, 'Hot Damn!'. She eagerly took another sip of the relaxing liquid as she felt a new feeling of strength flow through her body. Paul was going to help her find Nick.

"So, this megalomaniac thinks he can control all the prey animals in one fell swoop and you are to his spokesbunny? It makes sense, he is in the perfect position to pull something like this off. You say yourself and Nick have only been partners for less than a month? Why would they hold him hostage? Is there something I'm missing about your relationship with my son?" Paul gave her an odd look as Judy drained the last drops from her second whiskey sour.

The rabbit was definitely feeling the effects of the drink. She was inexperienced with alcohol and was visibly tipsy, one of her ears bent at the middle and her body swayed slightly. "Nick and I, we are just really close friends. It's complicated, we…" She said, trailing off her eyes drifting down to the wood table top in front of her. "We just have to save him. I'll do anything to get him back." Judy said, her voice a whisper.

"Well, I've never been one to judge, especially in my position. Do you know what I am?" Paul said, leaning closer, his smile fading. "Do you know what kind of place you are in. You're the first bunny or even the first prey animal to see the inside of this room. You may feel trapped in the lion's den but here you are, asking the hyena's for help. Figuratively speaking."

The rabbit shook her head, "That doesn't matter right now. Whatever business you are into, I won't tell. I won't give up the location of this place. I just want to see Nick again." She said with a desperate fervor.

"You have to realize, little bunny. I have to protect my organization. You're a police officer and so is Nick. If we help you, how do we know that a SWAT team isn't going to come barging through those doors after Nick is free? As you can imagine, we aren't on the right side of the law here. If you do keep our secret, how long can that last? What happens if you see one of my fox's here committing a crime and you use the knowledge gained here to find his compatriots. This isn't a simple black and white situation." The fox in front of her said before gestured to his fellow foxes around the room.

"I'll do anything you want, anything. Just save Nick and help me save the prey animals. You're my only hope. Please." Judy tried to ignore the fact that she was pleading, almost begging the fox. The rabbit had hoped he would be more willing to help his son escape from the clutches of Derrick.

"You're not just asking for my help. You're asking for the help of my organization. We are scoundrels, thieves, and rouges. We don't work for free. I haven't seen my son in half a dozen years. He is my kin, but I won't sacrifice my position and my members for no gain." Paul leaned back in his chair with a contemplative expression on his face.

Judy's panic started to rise, she felt like he was getting ready to say no. "I don't have anything. I don't have any money. Isn't saving the life of your son payment enough?"

Paul took a few final sips of his beer before emptying the mug into his muzzle. He sat quietly for nearly a minute gazing off into space, clearly thinking. "There is something you have. If we are going to help you, then you have to be a mole for us, inside the police force. At least long enough where we can pull a job that makes my organization wealthy. Following that, you have to quit the police force. Forever. And leave Zootopia. I'm not going to run the risk of having you change your mind a few years later and turning us in."

Judy looked shocked. She had a strict code of ethics, plus it was her dream to be an officer. If she took Paul's help, she would be sacrificing everything. Her heart made the decision before her mind even had a chance to rationalize what the Fox had said. "Deal." The rabbit said holding out her paw.

The fox grinned and returned the shake with one solid pump. "Excellent. Now, let me see. We have to get you back home so you don't miss your early morning appointment." He said before fishing around in his pockets and pulling out an older looking cell phone. "Take this. It has my number preprogrammed into it. We can communicate without Derrick being any the wiser." Paul felt a sense of elation he hadn't felt in some time. He was confident they could rescue his son. He would have done so anyway, no one takes his boy hostage. Getting this bunny to agree to help them make, what could possibly be, the largest score in his career, was just icing on the cake.

Judy took the phone with a sense of Déjà vu. She now had two burner phones in her possession. The alcohol sloshed in her stomach as the gravity of her promise whirled in mind and heart. She felt sick.

Paul watched the bunny carefully, and could tell it was time for her to go. He beckoned to one of the goons who had been waiting at the door. "Could you please escort Judy back upstairs and have one of our drivers take her back to her place."

The rabbit stood on shaky legs and nodded to Paul before saying, "Thank you."

Paul returned the nod and smiled, holding his empty beer glass in the air, "To new friendships and endless possibilities. We'll be in touch."

Judy turned and allowed the two toughs to lead her back up to the street. She didn't bother looking toward the desk where the librarian fox sat, but continued straight out until she found herself back under the rainy night sky. The two large fox's pushed her into the back seat of a large black sedan that pulled up within a minute of the them arriving on the street.

The next fifteen minutes felt like a blur as Judy sat with her head resting against the window. The driver stayed mute and she didn't offer anything in the form of conversation. Her mind spiraled under the weight of her thoughts as she stared blankly out of the window at the dark streets flashing by. She instructed the driver in a slurred voice that she needed to be dropped off at the back entrance. He replied with a silent nod.

The car arrived and she slipped out into the night. Her feet guided her back up to Nick's apartment as her vision swam from a combination of tears and the effects of the drinks. Barging inside she collapsed on her fox's bed, burying her noes under the blankets and pillows. It smelled of him. She breathed deeply through her nose and found some peace in his warm musky scent that permeated the bed. Judy pulled the lump from her pocket and placed the new burner phone on the bedside table. Her nose could still smell the sex on the sheets as she pulled the blankets completely over her head, cocooning her body in darkness and the fox's musk. The rabbit drifted off to sleep, her thoughts filled with Nick's green eyes and charming grin.

/\/\/\/\

A gentle tapping.

A pause.

A more insistent tapping.

Another pause.

A louder knocking.

Nick awoke. His eyes were blood shot and the fur between his ears was plastered to one side. The knocking on the door continued. He shook his head, trying to clear the last memories from the horrid nightmare he had been having. It was something about Judy, an endless hall, and a creature trying to get her as he watched helplessly. "What is it?" He groggily yelled at the door.

"Breakfast!" A cheery voiced called through the door.

Nick answered with a long groan.

The door opened tentatively allowing a small serval to slip inside. She carried a tray with several covered dishes that wafted tasty smells into Nick's room. The small cat maneuvered around the near pitch black room expertly, finding the windows and flinging the black-out shades open. The east facing windows were suddenly filled with the mornings sunlight, a splash of light landing directly across the fox's naked body. Nick growled unhappily and pulled a pillow over his head. He felt perfectly miserable.

The fox held the pillow over his eyes with both paws and practically whimpered. His voice muffled by the pillow, "What time is it?"

"It's seven and I've brought you breakfast." Kamari said, averting her eyes politely from the naked fox on the bed.

Nick lifted his head and peered out from under the pillow at the small cat. He had not slept well. His mind had continuously played out the scenes Judy might be having with his father. He wondered if he had made the right suggestion in sending her to see him. There was a reason he didn't talk to his father. He wasn't a purely evil man, but he was a conniving, lying, manipulative asshole. The fox sat up and in a flash realized he was naked in front of Kamari. He pulled the sheet quickly over his lower half, trying to hide his shame.

"Sorry." He muttered, trying not to look at the small cat.

"It's quite alright. I've seen quite a few of my master's guests naked. I'm quite used to it." Kamari said with a grin. She tottered over to the table next to the bed and placed down the tray. She whipped off each metal cover, revealing several hot steaming breakfast foods. Tasty eggs, hash browns, and oatmeal with fresh fruit now stood surrounded by orange juice, ice water, and a cappuccino.

The smell of the coffee and hot food did peak the fox's interest. It had been some time since he had eaten. He fished around the bed for his clothes but saw them laying on the ground at the foot of his bed. Sheepishly he slid out of the bed and slipped his briefs and pants on, skipping the shirt for a moment. "Do you always offer room service in the morning for the guests?" Nick said, sitting down in front of the meal.

The serval laughed and shook her head. "Of course not. You're getting special treatment. Mr. Byrd knows nothing about this. You're one of the few animals I've met here who actually treated me like an equal." She said, pulling the chair across from the fox out and sitting down.

The fox pulled the plate of scrambled eggs toward him and smiled happily at the cat. She had provided a spicy salsa for the eggs which really made his mouth happy. Nick had to slow himself from eating the dish too fast. He paused and took a sip of the cappuccino. "This is great!" He said, his voice filled with enthusiasm. "Won't Derrick be upset that your spending so much time with only one guest?"

"Well, he has instructed the staff to take excellent care of you. I can't stay too long or someone might get suspicious. As I said yesterday, we aren't even supposed to speak to the guests. That's one reason I had to come so early." She smiled and tilted her head. "I wanted to speak with you."

Nick wasn't slowing down as he finished the eggs and moved onto the oatmeal. The fox hadn't realized how hungry he was until the warm food was put in front of him. He only paused to take a long gulp of the orange juice.

"Slow down or you'll choke." Kamari admonished.

Nick laughed around a mouth full of the oatmeal, before pausing to look at the serval. "You're right. As much as I hate to admit it, Derrick's chef makes some mean grub." The fox said before slowing down and taking a more moderate sip from the cappuccino mug. "So, tell me Kamari. Have any ideas how we can escape this place?"

Kamari frowned and looked down at her paws. "No one leaves without permission. There are armed guards at all the gates and camera's everywhere. Over a year ago an oriental panda girl tried to escape. She was caught trying to hide in a garbage truck. Her punishment was…" The serval looked up, and Nick could see glistening tears in the corners of her eyes. "Brutal. For weeks and weeks, she was forced to move heavy rocks back and forth between two piles. She had nearly no breaks, minimal water and was forced to sleep outside, in the rock pile. The poor girl collapsed several times from heatstroke. I don't think I could have lasted as long. I haven't seen anyone make an attempt after that."

Nick had come to the conclusion that he was going to focus on punching Derrick's face first before focusing on the stomach. The more he heard about the coyote the more he seemed to resemble a super-villain. How had such a monster been allowed to become so powerful?

"Maybe we can think of something. Two heads are better than one. You know I am a police officer after all." Nick said with a shrug,

"You're a police officer?" Kamari said incredulously.

"When you have a chance, I'll explain the entire situation to you. I don't want to be the reason you're in trouble by spending so much time here." The fox said looking up at a conveniently placed wall clock.

The small cat sighed and stood, nodding. "You're right. I should be more careful. I'll be back in an hour or so to collect your dishes. I think Razor has a busy day scheduled for you. I just wanted to make sure you were well fed."

The serval bowed as she left, it looked like nearly an automatic gesture. She gave a friendly wave as she slipped out of the door, leaving Nick alone.

The fox looked back down at his breakfast and pushed the plates away from him, having lost much of his appetite. He took a final sip of his cappuccino. Nick sat with his eyes on the windows, his mind far away thinking about Judy when the bedside phone rang. The fox jumped slightly at the unexpected sound and picked up the receiver with a sense of trepidation. "Hello?"

"Good morning, sunshine." Razor's said, his voice sounding slightly muffled through the questionable phone connection. He was obviously using a cellphone. "Are you ready to start your day? I'll be at your room in fifteen minutes so make sure you're ready."

"I…" Nick started but was cut off by the neon fox.

"The time's a ticking, see you soon!" Razor said with a laugh before the line went dead.

Nick replaced the receiver and sat on the bed for a few moments before gathering his clothes and heading into the shower.


End file.
